


no longer captain of (my soul)

by BecomeMyObsession



Series: dye the soul with the color of your thoughts [3]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate POV Third Person Between Lucifer & Chloe, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Forgive Me, I drew myself a Hell map, Multiple chapters, Temporary Character Death, does it count if Hell exists?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-12 00:58:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7077937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BecomeMyObsession/pseuds/BecomeMyObsession
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucifer had given his word, and he always kept it - no matter the circumstances, he'd save her. Chloe knew it could happen; she just hadn't expected to happen quite so <em>soon</em>. </p><p>(Part 3/3. Yet can stand alone. Rated mature for language and violence.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. So, unless you can't tell by my little over tagging session, this part got away from me. I know I said it would be long but it's gotten _so_ long that I figured I need to brake it into chapters so it's, um, not _ridiculously_ long.
> 
> Warning: first part is quite dark - there's little to no humour, yet I am trying to keep them in character. I've been watching a lot of the more serious parts from the show, over and over, to try get a grasp on it.
> 
> Although this _can_ stand alone (it's much entertaining to go read the whole thing - don't you think? ha ha!) All you need to know is Chloe believes Lucifer is the Devil and that she's gotten herself damned to Hell because the angels see her 'friendship' as siding with him.

The little yelp of surprise was involuntary as she failed to notice the man sneaking up behind her as she knocked out the woman who’d had her gun trained on Lucifer, while he was otherwise pre-occupied. They had been quietly surveying LA’s newest drug ring, but someone must have tipped them off because they weren’t in the building two minutes before they were surrounded. She was supposed to stay on the sidelines, ‘ _just take out the guys who get past me’_ , Lucifer had quickly whispered to her before loudly announcing to the room – drawing the attention away from her so she could slip into the background and away from the potential gunfire – that he was going to enjoy taking them all down _one_ by _one_.

The past couple of weeks they’d remained mostly out of danger, purposely calling in SWAT and backup whenever they thought the situation could involve anything other than a simple one man job. Lucifer had been playing by the book, and was not taking any risks with her life as they still hadn’t found a solution to the whole ‘angels banning her from Heaven’ headache yet. But luck had never been Chloe or Lucifer’s friend, and their good fortune was bound to abandon them sooner or later.

The man slid up behind her while she was distracted taking out the woman’s kneecaps. The sharpness of the blade was cold against her throat as he wrapped the other around her waist, pulling her up tight. She froze. Her first thought being thank god she’d taken out the woman so Lucifer was alerted to her presence as he spun around; the unconscious man in his hands forgotten and dropped to the concrete as he quickly calculated her predicament.

“Bloody hell Detective; I _told_ you I had this.”

His voice was agitated as he quickly scanned her body to make sure she was unharmed. She bristled, if she hadn’t stepped in there was a good chance he would have been shot to Hell. Quite literally – she would have snorted at that if she wasn’t terrified any sudden movement would have the sharp knife at her throat slicing through her jugular like butter. She winced at the thought and his eyes narrowed in response. She tried to send him a reassuring smile; but knew it was pretty pointless.

Lucifer took a small step forwards-

“Hold it right there mister-”

Lucifer immediately stopped walking, raising his hands slightly in surrender. Chloe had to give him brownie points for remaining so calm when she was pretty sure every bone in his body was screaming at him to attack.

“-another move and she dies.”

The hand around her middle pulled her further backwards, lifting her slightly off her feet. She gasped as the knife pressed further into her throat; just on this side of not drawing blood. The man’s breath wafted past her ear as she spoke and she scrunched her face at the rotten smell. Clearly he didn’t brush his teeth often. “This is what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna collect all the guns and put them in a pile in the middle of the room. Then you’re gonna come back here and _kneel_.” At the narrow of Lucifer’s eyes the man laughed, a harsh bitter sound. Chloe briefly wondered what had happened in this man’s life to make him so _cruel_. “I have someone who wants to meet ya-” the knife at her throat pressed a tiny bit harder, and Chloe flinched as it bit her skin, “-and no _funny_ business. I was warned about your games. Mess with people’s heads you do.” The grip around her middle squeezed and an unintentional choke was forced from her as her breath whooshed out. “One move out of line and the ground gets painted red with her blood.”

There was a beat of silence and Chloe was terrified that Lucifer was just going to ignore everything the man had just said and _charge_ at them. She was wrong, Lucifer stalled for a millisecond longer and Chloe’s eyes widened as Lucifer slowly nodded, turning and quietly moving to collect the weapons. She knew from the tenseness in his shoulders, that he was vibrating with rage as he tucked the guns under his arms as he moved gracefully around the unconscious bodies. He couldn’t do anything about the ridicule because _she_ was his weakness. This was all her fault… hold on, her brain halted for a second as something dawned on her.

If the illiterate jerk behind her knew about Lucifer’s mind tricks then the person had to know Lucifer was the Devil. Her head quickly ran through all the possibilities and – there was a good chance she’d missed someone or simply not accounted for an individual, Lucifer didn’t tell her _everything_ – then her choices were Amenadiel and, and his _mother_.  She highly doubted Amenadiel would be threatening her life at this point, she’d met him a few times in the past few weeks as the brother’s discussed their mother’s whereabouts and her whole- _issue_ , and he’d treated her nicely enough. Meaning…

“Kneel.” The man behind her gruffly shoved her. Being unbalanced she quickly dropped, flinching in pain as the hard concrete jolted through her knees, shooting up her legs. She gritted her teeth, not letting the ass see her suffer. Lucifer’s eyes flickered to her as he circled around and came to a stop in the middle of the room, laying the guns down and straightening up. He stared at her a second longer and she tried to communicate with her eyes that she was fine, sending him a tiny almost imperceptible smile. She was pretty sure if she spoke the man would knock her out, and she needed to be conscious. Any sudden movements could have her laying on the ground completely helpless, and at least this way she was alert.

The man’s hand that had been around her waist was now pressing down on her shoulder and the knife had moved up under her chin but was still pressed into her neck. She swallowed carefully, feeling the blade press down.

“Your turn to get down.”

Lucifer stalled, remaining standing and staring at her, guilt flashing in his eyes so quickly she almost missed it.

“I said. _Down_.”

“No.” Lucifer growled, the sound rumbling in his chest sounding very inhuman.

The hand on her shoulder moved to her hair and yanked backwards harshly so she was looking at the ceiling. Her breath halted in her throat and the tiny shocked sound of pain was almost undetectable. She would not show weakness to the scum who was using her to get Lucifer under his thumb. The knife pressed further into her throat and the man chuckled as though her discomfort was a gold comedy moment. If she moved her eyes down she could just see Lucifer’s profile as panic flickered across his face and he went to move forwards. “I will slit her pretty little throat _._ ” If the man pressed any harder with his blade she was a goner. She watched as Lucifer stopped, resigning himself as he set his shoulders. His eyes promising a slow painful death to the man holding her, and moved to get down…

A slow clap filled the room, echoing around them, and Chloe watched as Lucifer’s head snapped around to the shadows to the left of him as he raised himself back to his full height. She followed his line of sight, watching as a tall black haired woman waltzed out of the darkness. How long had she been there? “Oh isn’t this absolutely _wonderful_.” Her voice was musical, and not what Chloe would have expected from the way she slinked through the warehouse shadows as she approached. Although her smile was as malicious and cruelhearted as she’d imagined as her glossed lips tilted upwards in callous amusement. She’d seen the same manic looking smile on Lucifer’s face so many times when he was squaring up to his brother or to some criminal he believed needed to be _punished_ ; but coming from this woman it just seemed _wrong_.

“ _Mother_ …” Lucifer’s voice was a half hiss and half acknowledgment as he watched her advance.

Distracted as she was, Chloe still immediately noticed when the man’s hands loosened his grip on her hair. Not wasting her sudden advantage she threw the rest of her weight backwards, rolling out of his grip. She hit the floor hard but quickly scrambled upwards onto her feet. He lashed out, and she barely felt the slash as she kicked a leg at his right knee cap. He grunted in pain and as he lost his balance she elbowed him, hard, between his shoulder blades. He went down and she finished him off with a kick under the chin; watching his body slump to the floor. She bent over, hands braced on her thighs as she panted, hair falling in her face as she breathed.

She didn’t miss the look of pride Lucifer shot her way; silently asking if she was okay-

“I _knew_ there was a reason you liked this one.” Lucifer’s mother was practically purring, “where’d you find her?”

Lucifer’s voice was level, yet firm, when he answered. “She isn’t a possession.” When he didn’t get a response other than an amused raised eyebrow he sighed, and added; “what do you want mother? Why are you here?”

“Well, I thought it was about time we had a nice mother and son reacquaintance,” Chloe was beginning to get sick of the way this woman’s words slipped over her tongue as she spoke, “a little bonding time, don’t you think?” She smiled, tilting her head in what Chloe guessed was supposed to be a mimicry of childish inquisitiveness.

She didn’t hear Lucifer’s reply but she guessed it was something snarky, probably provoking, as she was too busy staring at her hands. She had placed them against the slowly increasing ache in her stomach, and they were now covered in blood. She swallowed, she was never afraid of blood, but her _own_ blood… and so _much_ of it.

Lucifer’s voice faded into the background as she stared at her hands; a droplet rolled off her finger and dropped to the floor. She watched it hypnotically as it balanced at the end of her finger for a split second, wobbling, before it dropped and splashed on the ground; two more drops quickly following and creating the beginnings of a puddle. Not really sure what to do, she blinked, should she try to stop the bleeding? There seemed to be too much of it to stop with what she had on hand? Her stomach cramped in pain and the room spun a little at the edges of her vision. She wobbled as she lost her balance for a second before regaining it, and coughed, hunching over as specks of blood splattered onto her hand.

“You’re little Detective doesn’t seem to be doing too well.”

Well whatever mother and son _had_ been talking about apparently was no longer a subject of conversation as there was abrupt silence. She looked up, placing her hands back on her stomach, to see Lucifer looking at her in utter horror. She didn’t think she’d seen that expression before; it didn’t really suit him. He was much better with other emotions… “Chloe-”

She blinked at Lucifer, taking her hands away from her stomach to double check the blood was still there, it was. “Lucifer?” Her voice cracked and the room span around her. This time she wasn’t quite able to retain her balance, her knees giving in and she fell… Lucifer’s arms wrapping around and stabilizing as the ground rushed towards them. Her hands immediately gripped his sleeves to stop herself falling further and he helped lower her to the ground. “There’s too much blood.” She whispered, looking at him, her eyes felt too wide and her mouth tasted like copper.

“You’re going to be _fine_.” Lucifer’s voice cracked a little, and she tightened her grip on his sleeve as a wave of pain washed through her. She choked a little. “You’re not going anywhere. Not yet.”

There was a light tinkle of a laugh from somewhere over her shoulder and a voice soon followed. “She sure seems to be doing a mighty fine job of _going_ somewhere.” There was a light tap as heels walked across concrete. “Tell me Lucifer, where _is_ she going?”

“Fuck off mother.”

Normally Lucifer would have attacked, or at least lashed out at the person mocking him, but instead his arms stayed wrapped around her; saving her from the cold concrete. She shivered anyway. And his arms tightened.

“You can’t hold her soul, can you? It’s too far out of your reach.” The voice was too high pitched and Chloe winced as it vibrated in her ears.

Lucifer’s voice was a rumble beneath her as he spoke, “I said, fuck off.” He shifted and the pain dispersed from her stomach up her body and she whimpered, her vision swimming. Yet the new position meant she could see the woman taunting Lucifer.

Said woman left out a wistful sigh, tongue coming out to lick her bottom lip before vanishing back inside her mouth. “Very well. Find me when you’re done with-” she waved her hands in their general direction, “ _this_.”

“In your dreams.” Lucifer muttered, but it fell on deaf ears as his mother was already waltzing away; merging with the shadows… “Chloe?” There was a beat of silence, and his grip tightened on her further, voice sounding strained. “You still with me?”

She was feeling a little lightheaded but she managed a small groan, “uh, I hurt.” The room shifted around her and the sharp pain in her stomach dulled a little. She allowed her eyes to close, “also, sleepy.”

His breath hitched, and he pulled her into him further, “come on Detective, for me, try to stay awake.”

She wasn’t used to hearing him sound so panicked, it didn’t sound right. He was supposed to be confident, strong, he was supposed to be- _happy_. She managed to crack open an eye, vision blurry before his face swam into focus. He was little wavy around the edges but she knew vaguely where to aim as she lifted an arm. Her limb felt heavy and she had to concentrate to lift it, but she managed to raise it to Lucifer’s face and she grazed his cheek, “you’re not- allowed- to be sad.” Her voice broke, and it took a lot of effort, and as her hand slipped back into her lap she managed a small smile. Her heart felt heavy as the truth settled within her. She was _dying_. There was no way out of this one. She took a wavering breath, managing to open her other eye so she could see him. She tried to find her voice, it took a lot of effort but she manage to force the words out, “come get me?”

He let out a heavy breath, a pained sound falling from his lips as he watched her close her eyes. “Yes. Yes Chloe, I’ll come get you.”

She managed a small reassuring smile. Her body felt warm, comforting as she sunk into it, and her grip on Lucifer’s jacket loosened as the haze took over. Her breaths coming slower as she slowly succumbed to the tiredness washing over her. She felt Lucifer move and she didn’t have the strength to bring him back as he lowered her to the concrete. The ground seeped through her clothes but she couldn’t feel the cold any more, just the slight firm pressure as it pressed into her.

Lucifer walked away from her; she could hear the light tapping of his shoes on the floor.

“Hey douchebag, wake _up_.” There was a muffled shuffle, and a groan as she guessed Lucifer picked up someone from the floor, “wakey wakey.” There was a beat of silence. “There we go… good morning! Now here,” there was a slight noise and a metal click, “ _shoot me_.”

She figured the person he was holding answered but she couldn’t hear them. “Well I’m not exactly going to shoot _myself_ am I? That’s your job-” Lucifer continued but it faded into the background as a slight buzz filled her ears and blocked her hearing. Her body felt heavy and her brain was shutting down, darkness obliterating everything as she succumbed.

The last thing that cut through the muted silence was a loud bang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The whole thing is written. I would upload it all at once but I haven't gotten around to grammar/spelling checking the whole (nearly 30 pages - oops) thing yet. So bare with me and the next part _will_ be up tomorrow. I just need to figure out where I'm breaking all the chapters up and it'll be for your viewing pleasure.
> 
> Next chapters are not as dark - I give you my word - and there's a lot more bouncy fun to be had once our favourite pairing have gotten to where I've been wanting to put them since I started this little (slowly blossoming out of my control) series.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing Chloe became aware of was the fact she was _moving_. Well, she wasn’t moving, someone was moving _her_. She was being dragged, her feet slipping along what felt like wet cobblestone as she was pulled in some unknown direction. Being a cop, her first point of call was to make sure she was physically okay. She wasn’t stupid, she knew where she was, and she remembered… _dying_. Technically, then, she wasn’t in a physical body, but it sure felt like she was. Her shoulders ached from where she was being dragged… and she was _cold_. Weirdly. She hadn’t considered being cold in _Hell_ , but she was.

When she’d deduced that she was all there, - she hadn’t really considered the thought before that she may _not_ have been, was that even a _thing_? - she blinked open her eyes; distantly noting she was right about the cobblestone as she took as much in about her surroundings as she could without lifting her head. Figuring it was best to still pretend she was unconscious until she knew her situation, and the best way to get out of it. There was a pair of boots in front of her, and two at the side who were doing all the lifting. She had no way to gauge if there was any behind her. She hoped there wasn’t. Three was enough _._ Flicking her eyes down at herself, she noticed she was still in the clothes she died in; absent any blood… and her coat. Where her coat had gone she had no idea. Did Hell not like coats? Maybe she’d ask Lucifer later… if he found her- Her body jolted as the memory of the shot flashed through her memory and she winced as her limbs strained against the, what she guessed were demons, holding her.

They didn’t acknowledge her, simply tightened their grip and continued dragging her.

Was that all she was now? Some nameless soul that wasn’t worth a penny?

She lifted her head. Eyes zeroing in on the tall walls around them, made of dark brown brick and they looked as slippery as the floor. She wondered if it was the wet that was making her cold. They stretched about as high as a normal two floor suburban house and had barbed wire curled on top. Clearly designed to stop people – souls - climbing. They turned left, down an alley that was exactly the same as before. How these demons knew where they were going was a mystery. It all looked the same to her. Although she was pretty sure that was the second left they’d taken since she’d woken up. How long did it take for the consciousness to catch up with the soul? She had no idea. How long had they been dragging her before she woke up? Her questions weren’t going to be answered while she was playing prisoner.

Mentally setting her shoulders, she flicked her eyes to the demon on the left. Feeling a little bit of relief as she realized it was wearing a mask. Eerily reminiscent of the plague mask she remembered from history books when she was in school; she guessed it was the long beak. She used her position to scan the demons body, noting the blade tucked in at its belt. Black and curved, and _very_ sharp looking. That could probably do some damage. Its eyes flicked down to hers; the pupil’s vertically-split like a cats but a deep burgundy red… and definitely not human. “ _Head down._ ” Its voice was a hiss, barely legible as its other hand, gloved so she couldn’t see what was underneath, shoved her head back down. “You may only raise your head when we permit it so.”

She wanted to bite back, but logically knew it was probably better to stay silent. At least she wasn’t in any pain. Yet. She tried to ignore the utter dread she could feel threatening to encompass her and started counting steps in her head, as a distraction, and so she had a vague idea of the distance they were travelling. The walls all looked the same, as did the ground. She made the conclusion that wherever she was, this _section_ – she guessed – of Hell was very much a Labyrinth. After about 147 steps they came to a stop, keeping her head down she carefully lifted her eyes upwards to scan in front of her. The demon in front was definitely a woman, in human form – weirdly, she wondered if demons liked being in human form or if it was a choice, or was there something she didn’t know about? Probably. She didn’t know much.

“What’s so special about _this_ one?” Said demon from earlier hissed. Its voice still very slippery and she had to strain to understand. She briefly wondered if it was doing it on purpose.

She-Demon slithered up to her. Placing a finger under her chin and raising it so she came face to face with probably whoever was going to determine her fate. Her nails were painted red, and long, pinching Chloe’s skin as she tilted her head left, then right; as though she was inspecting her. She then hummed… the sound vibrated right down to Chloe’s bones, it wasn’t a pleasant sensation.

“Miss Lilith?” Same demon from before. She wondered if the other one could talk at all.

“She’s very pretty. Don’t you think?” Her voice was surprisingly rather light, _fruity,_ if Chloe had to come up with a description, and Chloe knew she wasn’t asking for an answer from said no-name demon. _Lilith_ – Chloe vaguely remembered reading about her, temptation of men and Adam’s first wife amongst other things - tossed her long blond hair behind her shoulder and peered at Chloe, “she would make an excellent addition.”

 _Addition_? Addition to _what_? Chloe wasn’t _adding_ to anything. She was getting out of here; as fast as humanely possible. She hoped that would be enough. The two no-name demons dropped her and Chloe fell painfully hard to her knees in front of Lilith; keeping her head held high as she glared. The female demon smiled, she guessed it was supposed to be alluring but to Chloe it just looked cruel. “What do you say, my lovely, would you like to join our ranks?”

Chloe frowned. _What_? Well, _that_ was a turnabout for the books. Debating with herself whether to answer or not; she figured if she didn’t there was a good chance they’d take her no answer as agreement. “No.” Chloe answered, narrowing her eyes in response to Lilith’s twinkly laugh.

“Well, aren’t you a stubborn one? It’s going to be _fun_ to break you; and then we’ll offer you the chance again. _One_ last time,” leaning down to replace her finger under Chloe’s chin she smiled, her teeth gleaming in what little light there was, “and trust me, you’ll be _begging_ me to accept.”

Stepping backwards to turn to discuss something with the demon who had been walking in front of her; Chloe realized that for the first time she was unmanned, and there were no restraints. Perhaps this was her only chance to escape. She wasn’t waiting around for Lucifer, if he was even _here_ , to come and rescue her. She wasn’t some pathetic damsel in distress.

Her flight or fight response kicked in and adrenaline rushed through her body. Without really thinking about it she jumped upwards, flinging herself at the demon who had shoved her head down earlier, and yanked the blade from its belt. It made a grab for her so she slashed it in leg, watching the slightly darker and denser looking than normal human blood well up – so they _could_ bleed – and quickly spun around, her hair flowing out, and stabbed the other in the stomach before it had time to react. Lilith was watching, eyes probably wider than she thought they were. Chloe took advantage and flung the knife at her, watching as it buried into her side and she let out an inhuman screech. Quickly grabbing a replica of the blade from the other demons belt, she spun on her heels and _ran_.

Her feet slipped on the wet cobblestone and she nearly went down, but managed to push herself up with her hand and continue on. She heard the commotion behind her as they were probably following in pursuit. Escaped souls were probably not good marks on their score cards. The beginnings of what sounded like a Red-Tailed Hawk screech filled her ears, but it morphed into a mechanical wail and warped the air around her. Well that was an alarm sound if she’d ever heard one. She quickly slipped into the shadows at the sides of the alley, pressing herself up against the wall and holding her breath as three pairs of feet came running past her. Only releasing it when they didn’t notice her.

_Calling all Division 34. Calling all Division 34. Escaped soul. Repeat. Escaped soul. Report to Lilith immediately._

Grimacing, she harshly shoved a hand through her hair. Now everyone was going to be on the hunt for her, and she had no idea where to go or if there was anywhere to hide. It all just looked like smooth cobblestone and brick. Launching back into her run, she spun around the corner they’d taken earlier, and immediately pulled herself to a stop. What was she doing? She couldn’t keep running around like some lost little soul, they were bound to catch her.

 She took a second to think through her options and then slowly jogged to the next turning they’d taken. Peering around the edge, thankfully it was empty, and stepped into the next alley. She set herself a fast walk, only stopping to step into the shadows when something shot overhead. She hadn’t thought about the sky. If it could be called a sky. It was a swirling red and dark blue mess, shifting in and out of focus as she stared. Did demons fly? By the black shapes above her, darting around, she guessed _some_ did.

_Calling all Division 34. Calling all Division 34. Escaped soul. Repeat. Escaped soul. Report to Lilith immediately._

The blaring alarm was making her heart hammer in her chest as she stuck as close to the wall as possible as she snuck along the alley. Wishing she had a hair tie as her hair kept getting in her face; she scooped it up and tucked in under the collar of her top, feeling it itch her back as she walked. She was completely lost, and despite knowing she wasn’t really _in_ a body, it was demanding water. And lots of it. Her mouth was dry and her throat was parched.

“You there!” Similar to the slimy hiss from before, only deeper, the voice slithered out from the darkness behind her.

 _Shit_.

Not turning to look; she immediately picked up her speed. Pushing off her heels and forcing her exhausted body to run. “Stop soul. I demand you. _Stop_ running.” Chloe would have found the demand rather amusing if she wasn’t so focused on running _away_ , her stomach churned as she ran around another corner, and another, and another, not really checking where she was going…

...and, typically, she pulled up short as she smacked right into someone; the breath whooshing out of her as she hit _hard_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me all day to upload. I spent the duration of it on a train - and if anyone spends most their lives on UK trains they'll know the wifi is terrible (and expensive). 
> 
> I hope this lived up to standard! Third chapter shall be up tomorrow - and longer. My chapters are pretty uneven in length, but it took me forever to decide where to split...
> 
> Thoughts? My head is fully of these vast descriptions of Hell but I'm trying to feed it in little bits so I don't overwhelm.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up: first bit of the chapter jumps back a little bit - you should understand once you start reading!

Lucifer hadn’t really felt the shot. It had ripped right through him at bullet, quite literally he mused, speed and the reality around him had disappeared in a blink. The next thing he was aware of was standing in some remote part of Hell that obviously hadn’t seen tender care and love in a long time. That was probably his fault; he hadn’t been a good housekeeper when he’d ran Hell.

Taking in his surroundings, he noticed the shift in the air as the souls bristled with his presence. They were trapped in their own individual Hells, just a step out of reality with the rest of Hell. Yet they were still very _here_ , locked behind doors as he passed; their personal Hells adaptable to them. He wasn’t sure why, but he had a feeling that Chloe had not been locked in one of these yet. He tested the air to see if he could sense her soul. She had a recognizable spirit as he had spent enough time around her to detect the individual _mark_ she left. But, he slammed a hand against a cold wall as he concentrated, there were _so many_ that they all just jumbled up.

Growling in frustration he slunk into the shadows as he strolled along the once familiar pathways. Though he was unused to seeing it from this angle, usually seeing it from above as he’d soured above his domain, he did remember his way around. Taking a quick left, and two rights, he debated the quickest way he could find his Detective. For the first time he regretted cutting off his wings, and resigned himself to trying to detect her soul as he wandered through Hell. He did, down here, have the ability to, _jump,_ to wherever he needed to be; but he was hesitant as he could just jump right past her.

He had to slide back into the shadows, and press himself up against the wall, about a dozen times to avoid demons passing him as he searched. He knew he was still their Master but he’d fundamentally changed and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with the questions, and all the – _responsibilities_ – he’d have to take on if he announced himself. All that would do is delay him from finding Chloe.

He was debating the chances of possibly finding, perhaps, one loyal demon – who’d he’d make stay silent – to help him find her when the recognizable alarm bells sounded. He looked upwards as the sky pulsed; feeling the air shift and move around him.

_Calling all Division 34. Calling all Division 34. Escaped soul. Repeat. Escaped soul. Report to Lilith immediately._

That _had_ to be Chloe. It was _very_ rare for a soul to escape; in fact as far as he remembered it had only happened once before in all his time ruling Hell and that was because some insolent little demon had forgotten to lock a cell. He’d been disposed of quite quickly after that as Lucifer hadn’t needed demons who couldn’t do what they were created for.

Lucifer grinned to himself as he picked up his pace. That was his Detective. Always a step ahead. _Division_ _34_ was the Labyrinth and one of Lilith’s many domains she controlled with his permission. Why Chloe had ended up there, he wasn’t sure, but he stepped into the nearest shadow and let them rise up around him, emerging in the Labyrinth in record time.

He closed his eyes and tested the air again.

She was around here somewhere.

 _Now_ he could feel her. Sense her breaths as she ran, and her irritation at not knowing where she was going. He pulled back; concentrating on getting as close to her as possible. When he reopened his eyes, the location looked exactly the same as before. Dank cobblestone, dank walls, it even smelled _damp_. He knew there was a reason he left this place – it wasn’t homely, at all. “Detective, where are you?” He muttered to himself; beginning a slow walk down an alley in the general direction he could feel her.

He was just beginning to think perhaps he’d gotten the wrong location, maybe his travelling was a little out of sync, when a mass of blond hair sped around the corner and smacked into him. He immediately went to steady her, relieved she seemed completely unharmed if a little frazzled, and had to hold on as she struggled. “Detective-” she wasn’t listening apparently, he pushed her backwards so she could see him, “ _Chloe,_ bloody hell stop moving would you, it’s _me_.”

It took her a beat but she stilled, stopping and staring at him like she couldn’t quite believe he was real. Eyes wide and breath coming in little rapid pants; and his heart jackhammered in response.

“Lucifer?” She whispered.

He nodded, clearing his throat and sending her an as exasperated look as he could manage. “I’d like it if you could stop looking at me like that; it’s doing _all sorts_ of things to my body that-”

“Ew. Gross.” She scrunched up her face, looking a little bit like her normal self, and he grinned. “It’s really you?”

“In the flesh,” he paused, raising his eyebrows deliberately, “sort of.”

Her shaky laugh was a relief to hear. She may not technically be alive down here, but it was a step up from seeing her bleed out on the floor in his arms. He didn’t ever think he’d forget the moment her body lost its grip, her breaths stilling as her life slipped away...

“Thank god-”

“-Decidedly _not_.” He fixed her with an irritated look. _Really_? Still? Would she ever drop the whole _God_ thing, even in Hell?

At least she had the decency to look a little sheepish, shrugging one shoulder. “I think I was beginning to lose my mind down here…” she trailed off, looking uncertainly at the walls around them, before looking back at him and tentatively reaching out to push his shoulder. “Are you sure you’re real?”

He laughed at the absurdity of the question. “ _Yes_ , Detective; I’m pretty sure I’m real.”

She hesitated, eyes scanning him for a second longer and he let her find her way back to him. She opened her mouth a bit, stopping herself, before sighing. “You have _no_ idea how glad I am to see you.” She shoved a hand through her, now very frizzy, hair and made a sound of frustration as it tugged.

He cocked an eyebrow, amused at her reaction. “Well, _most_ people don’t have that reaction when they run into the Devil in Hell.” He wondered if she knew the brevity of the situation she had found herself in, then decided she probably did. Chloe Decker may be many things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.

Her little breathy laugh had an emotion he couldn’t identify twist in his stomach. “I don’t doubt it.”

Her left hand swept more hair out of her face, and this time he noticed the blade tucked under her belt at the waist. He pointed at it, “where’d you get _that_?”

She looked confused for a second, before her eyes followed his down to the knife at her side. Looking back up at him she seemed to be debating something before muttering, “I stole it.”

The laugh he let out was a sudden boom, very unlike him, and he almost blanched at it himself it was so unexpected. “ _You stole it?”_

Hesitantly nodding, she shifted from one foot to the other, “from one of the demons who was dragging me when I woke up.”

He frowned, she was being dragged? Most souls woke up in the same part of Hell, a sort of waiting room for souls before they were automatically sorted. Trust his Detective to be different to everyone else. What made her so special? “Do you know where they were taking you?”

“To some demon named Lilith. She’s very,” she made a sound of disgust, one Lucifer was not used to hearing when it came to his most- _tempting,_ demon, “particular.” He guessed the word she eventually settled on was not the one she was actually thinking.

Anything regarding Lilith was worrying and quickly approaching her; he double checked she was okay. Her soul seemed fine. Untouched. “What did she want from you?”

Looking up at him, her eyes a little shocked at his insistence as he bored down on her, crowding her space. “I don’t know. Something about joining her ranks.”

Panic washed through his entire being and he roughly, without thinking, grabbed her shoulders. “And you refused?”

She raised an eyebrow at him.

He shook her a little. “No Chloe, tell me you refused.” He pressed, double checking her soul _again_ just to make sure.

“Of course I refused Lucifer. What you take me for? I’m not some push over who’s going to go join some random demon league on the first ask.” She rolled her eyes at him, shrugging out from under his grip. He let her.

She seemed fine, but he hadn’t been down here in a long time. “You _verbally_ refused?” He could have missed something.

Regarding him carefully, she squinted her eyes at him. “ _Yes_ ,” she stressed, “I figured not answering would give some clause into me actually saying yes,” she pulled a face, “no _thank you._ ”

The relief that shot through him was unexpected, nearly knocking him back a few steps.

She seemed to notice because her expression fell into one of concern as she took a small step towards him. “Lucifer, are you okay?”

Scoffing out a laugh, he waved her off. “Me? I’m good. You’re the damned soul.”

Scowling, she looked at the floor and scuffed her shoe. “No need to remind me.” She muttered, sounding very miserable.

“Well!” He clapped his hands. “Give me the blade, and we’ll get out of here.” He hadn’t transported a soul with him anywhere in a long time, so he wasn’t going to risk it considering how precious Chloe’s soul was. It was vital he returned her in one piece. He knew the way out. It would take them a while, but he’d get them to his palace and then from there out of Hell.

Her little frown alerted him to the fact she still hadn’t given him the blade, which was still safely tucked at her side. “Detective?”

She hesitated. “It’s my protection. What if we get separated? I need something to protect myself with Lucifer.”

He could see her point and debated letting her keep it. But it was a _demon_ blade. “It’s not made for human souls to wield.”

“Well I _wielded_ one perfectly fine earlier.” She defended.

Lucifer’s eyebrows shot up. “You _what?_ ” What did she do?

“How do you think I escaped Lucifer? I didn’t just say _pretty please_ and they let me go.” Rolling her eyes, her hand brushed over the handle and he watched the movement.

“All the more reasons to give it back to me now. The more you use it, the more damage it causes-” he paused, watching her raise her eyebrow at him, she wasn’t getting it, “-to your _soul_ Chloe. You’re fine at the moment, but it’s best not to risk it.”

She frowned, “I’ll only use it if I _need_ to Lucifer. I’m not going to go around stabbing every demon I see.” Her voice sounded exasperated and he knew if he didn’t take it off her she wasn’t going to give it back. Demon blades tended to have a way that made a soul want to, _keep_ , them. It appeared at least _that_ worked on Chloe. 

“Chloe, as soon as you give me it I’ll get us both out of here. Trust me, I’m not enjoying being down here again any more than _you_ are.”

Pulling a face she waved him on, “let’s go then.”

“Give me the blade first.”

“No.”

He was getting agitated, he would never understand why she was so stubborn. “I’ll make you.” He could taste the whispers of her soul, and considering she was damned, as wrong as it was, she belonged to him as much as the other souls down here.

Her eyes narrowed. “You can’t make me do anything.”

“Not normally, Detective. But you happen to be in _Hell_ , and the souls in Hell tend to belong to _me_.”

Her tiny step backwards had an emotion flitting him that he immediately ignored, crushing it beneath his shoe before it took over. “I don’t belong to anyone.”

“I hate to be the barer of bad news Chloe, but your soul _does_.”

She gulped, taking another tiny step away from him. “No-”

“Chloe, _stop_.” He pushed all his power behind it; using what he remembered about controlling souls. This was a different sort of power to the one he used topside to tempt humans. He watched as her whole body locked up and she froze. So it _did_ work. “Good girl.” He murmured, circling around her.

“Lucifer,” her voice broke on a whisper, and he ignored the growing irritating feeling that was telling him he was toeing over the line here, “let me go.” He watched her swallow. “ _Please_.”

\----

He didn’t let her go, and her whole body protested against its unnatural stillness as he came to a stop in front of her. She watched him warily as he made a little humming sound that she felt right down to her toes; this feeling _was_ a pleasant sensation. “Lucifer.” She whispered.

He traced the back of his finger down her cheek, and she unintentionally leant into the touch and he watched the moment. “ _Interesting,_ ” he murmured.

“What is?” She glowered. She felt really unsettled. Her body was telling her one thing and her mind another. “This isn’t funny Lucifer. Let me go.”

“Well-” he drawled, stepping closer to her, “your _body_ reacts the way it’s _supposed_ too.” He ran his hand down her arm and she shivered, he raised an eyebrow pointedly. “But your mind- your _mind_ is still completely your own.”

She glared at him, “- _and_?” Once he let her go she was going to kick his ass into next Monday. Once he got her back into her body. She wasn’t risking staying down _here_ any longer than she had too.

“Most souls I own give themselves over completely. Body _and_ mind. They’re all mine.” He was crowding her, pushing her body involuntarily back against the wall. “But you, you my dear Detective, you’ve always been _different_.”

“Okay, okay.” She surrendered. “I’ll give you your stupid blade back. Just let me go.”

He had placed a hand on either side of her head. His body so close to hers, but not touching, but she could feel the power controlling her emanating from it. Leaning down he hovered just between her ear and her shoulder, breathing on her neck, and hummed again. Her whole body wanted to buckle up into him, but she was still thankfully frozen. Although she couldn’t hide the goose-bumps that rose on her arms. “But why Detective? When we could have so much _fun_.” He blew lightly on her ear and she held her breath. She would not give into his, his _games_.

He stalled a second before withdrawing, a deep sigh leaving his lungs. “Very well.” He held out his hand. “Give me the blade and I’ll let you go.”

Without telling it too, her hand untucked the blade from her belt and passed it over. She immediately felt more vulnerable, but deep down she knew Lucifer would _never_ take advantage of her. He may like to mess with her, but he would never cross the line. She trusted him.

“Okay.” He rubbed his hands together. She looked at him in confusion and he raised an eyebrow, staring at her as he placed his hands on her shoulders. “I haven’t done this before.” He admitted. “Just, give me a second.”

“Haven’t what?” She frowned, feeling strangely open as he concentrated on her face. “Let a soul go?”

He waved a hand, “oh, no no. I’ve done that plenty.” He peered at her. “I’ve never _released_ a soul before.”

“Released?” Her question fell on deaf ears as he closed his eyes. His breath hitched as she watched and his hands tightened for the briefest of moments before he let up, pulling back, and the bonds he had forced on her lifted.

She immediately rolled her shoulders, she hadn’t been still long enough to be stiff but being able to move freely was never something she was going to take for granted. “Never-” she glared at him, making sure he knew how serious she was, “- _ever_ , do that again.”

The grin he cracked was not expected. “Oh I can’t, watch-" He stepped back into her personal space and pushed his face way to close to hers for comfort and her eyes flickered to his lips and back to his eyes. Her hands came up to his chest to try force some space between them, to no avail, he was as unmovable as a brick wall. What was he doing? “Chloe-” he purred, voice lowered and captivating, “- _kiss_ me.”

She expected her body to comply without hesitation, but nothing. Nothing happened. She looked at him in confusion and the grin that lit up his face was stunning. “Told you so.”

“What did you do?” She whispered.

“Released your soul. You no longer belong to me.” He tilted his head a second, pinning her in her spot with his gaze. “To be honest, I wasn’t completely sure it had worked.” His smile was a slight seductive curl of the lips and Chloe’s stomach cramped. “No harm in _trying_ though, right?” He chuckled lowly.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, and met his eyes, “thank you,” she breathed.

There was a brief moment of silence before he stepped out of her grip, brushing her off. “Yes, well” he grinned, this time his mask firmly back in place as he stared at her, “time we get going I think. No time like the present.”

She nodded, trailing after him as he paced away from her. “How do we get out of here?”

He waved her off. “Oh, don’t worry about _that_ Detective. I know Hell like I know all the ways around a woman’s body.” The look he gave her held no doubts what he was talking about.

She tried to push away the unwanted, unneeded, spark of heat that fired low in her stomach at that remark. “Right,” she drawled, instead. “Keep dreaming Lucifer.”  

He turned to her, that magnetic provocative smile lighting up his features as he slowly and deliberately scanned her body. “Oh I do, Detective. I _do_.”

She didn’t answer that, and the both of them lapsed into companionable silence as he walked them through alleys and alleys of brick and cobblestone that all looked the _same_.

After about what she guessed was half an hour of constant trekking, Chloe decided enough was enough and abruptly stopped walking. They’d been walking in silence side by side as Lucifer had been guiding them through corners and turns where nothing about the scenery changed, at all, it was stating it exasperate her with how much of the _same_ it all was. It wasn’t that the silence was uncomfortable, not normal sure, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. She’d left Lucifer alone with his thoughts as they’d walked figuring if whatever was preoccupying him was serious enough that she needed to know, he’d tell her. His eyes had flickered down to her every few minutes, so she guessed that the matters keeping his brain busy from talking to her were actually revolving around her.

She watched as Lucifer took a few more steps before stopping, circling back around and re-joining her. “Detective, is there a reason you’re stopping or are you just bored of my presence?”

Rolling her eyes, Chloe held up a hand as she rested herself against the wall. “Give me a few minutes.” She was exhausted; her legs protesting each step they took. The dragging, running, and now continuous trudging had taken a toll on her, and she needed a few minutes rest and they could get going again. The thirst that had been plaguing her earlier, she had forgotten about it upon bumping into Lucifer, reared its head again and hit her full force. She groaned, sinking back against the wall and lifted her head to the sky. “This sucks.”

He mirrored her position, leaning against the wall next to her and folding his arms. She watched from the corner of her eyes as he stared at her for a second before looking at the swirling mass of red and blue above them. “You know, although souls can experience pain; things like exhaustion, hunger and-” he paused, turning his head to look at her pointedly, “thirst, are all, _technically_ , in your head.”

“Well, it certainly feels real,” she grumbled.

The chuckle that he exhaled resonated right through her. “Well it’s not.” Pushing himself of the wall he moved in front of her, arching a brow as he crowded himself into her space, his finger hovering just above touching her cheek, “I can help.”

She craned her head up, lips primed as she wrinkled her nose, “you’re insufferable.” She shook her head looking at him warily; still a little on edge from the little, _trick_ , he’d pulled earlier.

Grinning, he tilted his head and his eyes pierced her face. She was pretty sure he purposely lowered his voice, making it smoother as a small smile danced around the corner of his lips. She wouldn’t put it past him. “You see, it’s all about knowing _exactly_ what to concentrate on-”

Narrowing her eyes she pulled her head back so she could look at him, exasperation flitting over her features. “Lucifer-” she sighed, “now is _not_ the time or the place.”

“Ooh,” his voice raised several octaves and he pulled back, a lecherous smile broadly lighting up his features, “so there _is_ a time and place?”

She looked at him.

He laughed, the throaty sound soothing her. “Very well Detective, if you don’t want my help.” He took a deliberate long step backwards and held out his hands, the grin prominent on his face as he acknowledged her. “Don’t moan at me when you feel like collapsing in exhaustion. We still have faaar to go,” he drawled, tongue clicking in consternation as he looked away.

Pondering her options, knowing she couldn’t go on as she was, Chloe carefully regarded him as he looked at her in obvious amusement. “No funny business?”

The gleam in his eyes said otherwise but he nodded. “Not as though I _could_ Detective. You’re all but closed off to me now,” his face dramatically fell in dismay, and he shoved his hands into his pockets, “how bloody aggravating.”

She hummed, eyeballing him as she used her elbows to push herself of the wall and onto the balls of her feet. “How can you help?”

The responding slowly growing lazy smile had Chloe almost reconsidering her decision but she set her shoulders awaiting an answer. “ _I’m_ not going to do anything; _you_ are.” Eyebrows lowering in confusion, she regarded him warily as he slithered up to her. “I’m just going to guide you, so to speak” his eyes laughing and his gaze scrutinizing as he tilted her chin up with his index finger.

Arching a brow as she craned her head at him; Chloe huffed in frustration and narrowed her eyes at his idleness. “Well come on; the sooner we can get out of here the sooner I can get back to Trixie.”

Tutting, his eyebrows raised and pulled together. “Now now Detective, _always_ in a hurry,” he raised his hands to frame her face; they were warm, a great contrast to the cold that had seeped right through to her bones. It cut off whatever she was going to say. “Time down here moves _much_ faster than up there. It can’t have been more than a few seconds.”

“Really?” Her voice sounded speculative even to her own ears. It must have been hours down here, maybe even longer.

He grinned. “Shocking I know.” It wasn’t until he closed his eyes and slowly exhaled, that she realized how close he actually was. His breath wafted over face; blowing the flyaway strands of hair away from her face. “Now, I need you to follow me,” he murmured. He opened one eye to check and she quickly shut her own in response; he chuckled low in his throat, “just concentrate.”

“What am I supposed to be concentrating on?” She mumbled, feeling very exposed and a little stupid stood here with her eyes closed. He sighed, the sound exasperated, so she quickly shut her mouth and nodded, “okay, okay. Concentrating.” She focused on the feel of his hands around her face, still emanating warmth for her cold skin, and listened to his slow inhales and even exhales as he breathed.

It wasn’t until that she could feel herself relaxing; her heartbeat gradually slowing down to a normal rhythm, that he spoke again. His voice barely above a whisper, so she had to lean forwards slightly to hear him. “I want you to focus on what you're feeling right now. Not the physical sensations, but the emotional ones.”

She hesitated a second, unsure whether she should answer as he hadn’t exactly asked her a question. Although the silence felt a little heavy, as though it was waiting for her to respond. “Safe,” she paused, “protected.”

That was evidently not an answer Lucifer was used to hearing because she felt him tense up for a second, and could tell he had to force himself to relax again as he released a slow deep breath. “Okay, now take those emotions and use them as a focal point. Imagine them encompassing the exhaustion and thirst.”

Her eyes opened a fraction, to find him staring at her. They met for a second; the depths to the emotions in Lucifer’s eyes she wasn’t quite able to fathom. He always said he hadn’t felt anything, but the _way_ he looked at said otherwise... “Lucifer-”

“ _Concentrate_ Chloe,” he murmured.

Nodding, she reclosed her eyes and followed his instructions. Imagining the emotions filling up her being and smothering out the sheer exhaustion that weighed heavy in her limbs, and she felt the emotions drench her throat as she breathed carefully in through her nose and out through her mouth. She felt a little like she was doing yoga breathing exercises, and it was having the same effect. Her whole body felt lighter and it became easier to breath as the pain disappeared. She wasn’t aware of the small smile that curled over her lips as she felt it wash over her.

They remained in silence for a few minutes. Their breaths mingling as they breathed.

“Chloe,” Lucifer’s voice was softer than usual, and she hummed in response, “come back to me.”

It took her a few seconds but she managed to slowly flutter open her eyes. Lucifer was still staring at her, and her small smile grew in size at the tender look in the Devil’s eyes. “Hi,” she breathed.

His expression remained; his eyes scanning her face before re-meeting her eyes. “Hello there,” his voice silk and satin rumbled, “feeling better?”

She nodded slowly, her hands coming to cover his that were still framing her face, “thank you.”

“No problem,” his little smile was genuine; reflecting in his eyes as they stood together. It wasn’t until a loud wail echoed from not far away, another echoing it, that their little bubble was pierced into. The sound puncturing the air and Chloe jumped, both dropping their hands at the same time and looking towards the noise. “Looks like Lilith caught hold of your souls scent.”

Chloe scrunched up her face, trying to ignore her racing heart and the fact she felt, _down_ , about their little- _moment_ , being broken. “Ew, gross.”

He raised an eyebrow; his grin much more _Lucifer_ as looked back at her. “How’d you think I found you?”

Holding up a hand, she shook her head and pulled a face of disgust. “I did not need to know that.”

“Why ever not Detective?” His voice raising on her title, dancing back out of her reach as she moved to slap his shoulder; eyes laughing as he continued. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact you should be happy your soul is so recognizable; it made it easier for me to identify.”

She narrowed her eyes, “well, now it’s made it easier for _them_ to identify.”

He looked graven, tilting his head in acknowledgement as his eyes flicked back to where they’d heard the wails. “Ah, true,” he moved to place a hand on her lower back, “probably time we get moving then!”

Setting off at a quick walk; Lucifer’s strides were longer than hers so she had to break into a slow jog to keep up. He glanced down at her. “How are you feeling?”

She beamed at him. “Fine. I feel grand.” The burning in her limbs was non-existent as they moved quickly away from where Lucifer’s demons were tracking them.

A thought crossed her mind and she pulled them to a stop, Lucifer looked at her in confusion. “I get you're feeling invincible Detective, but now is not the time to playing battle with my demons; I assure you that you’ll lose.”

Waving his remark off, she peered closely at him and prodded him in the shoulder. “They’re your demons.”

Raising an eyebrow, Lucifer still looked confused, “-yes, _and_?”

Her hands rose in exasperation and she allowed them to slap against her thighs as she glowered at him, “can’t you just call them _off_?” He didn’t answer her so she pushed his chest in irritation. “ _Lucifer_. Just tell them to leave us alone.”

“I can’t-” he allowed her to push him and at her puzzled and frustrated expression he clarified, “well, I can-”

“- _Great_.” She pointed in the direction they’d come from, “then do it. Tell them to go away, or whatever it is you do to stop them attacking.”

“If I do that,” he sighed, “I’ll have to announce I’m here. That means-” he paused to pull a face, “ _responsibilities._ ”

“-and?” Chloe raised her eyebrows. Anything to get them, her, out of this mess. Surely if he could just make them all go away she could just go home. Back to Trixie, and her _life_.

“Politics, Chloe. I have commitments I’ve been, _neglecting_ , and I’ll be called upon to-” he hesitated, but realizing she wasn’t going to let up until he explained, “fulfil them.” He glanced in the direction they’d come from and she knew were running out of time but she wouldn’t move until she understood, and he knew that. “Hell may be my domain; but I still have high demons biting my arse for _things_ , and _not_ in the fun way,” he waved his hands to generalize Hell. “I haven’t been around to lead them and they’ll be wanting answers.”

Chloe was beginning to understand where he was coming from, “and how long would that take?” She whispered.

He looked at her, eyes grave and voice deadpan, “too long.”

She nodded, hesitating a second longer before answering, “okay,” her voice quiet and accepting.

Before they got a chance to move the sound of chattered inhuman sounding voices raised around them and Chloe looked at Lucifer in horror. “ _Shit_ ,” she glanced around her, deducing that both their exits were blocked off, despite no demons being in sight yet the sounds were pretty betraying of their positions. “We’re cut off.”

He looked at her, eyes wide. “Chloe, I-”

Swallowing, she shook her head. “Not your fault.”

“I could get us out of here, but-” he stalled, looking around them before refocusing on her, “I can’t guarantee your safety-”

Chloe gritted her teeth as the sounds came around the corner, increasing in pitch as they landed on her. Frantic, heart in her throat, her eyes landed on a small alcove that she hadn’t noticed before. “There’s no time.” She looked at the demons who were now marching towards them and then back at Lucifer, who narrowed at eyes at her in question, and back the demons who were only focused on her. It was then she realized, with a little jolt as her breath hitched, her little push from earlier had put Lucifer mostly in the shadows. Before he could ask what she was thinking she shoved him, and not expecting it he lost his balance and tumbled backwards into the darkness.

“Chloe-”

“ _Shh_ ,” she hissed, eyes on the approaching demons and raising her hands partly in surrender. “They haven’t noticed you yet.” He made to get up and she flicked her eyes at him, “ _stay there_ ,” and as she watched Lilith strolled out from behind the rest of the demons; her whole body sashaying as she flung her blond hair behind her shoulders and set a death glare on Chloe.

Steeling her shoulders, she purposely turned to face her and shifted her position so her body concealed the entrance to the alcove. Lifting her hands more fully, with palms out and spreading her fingers, she spoke; keeping her voice level and steady as she looked the she-demon dead in the eyes. “Looks like you found me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Currently at home for the weekend, visiting the family before I pop to London for a week - so I was sat awkwardly trying to edit this with a cat sat on top of me. Looks like she's keeping me company for the night.
> 
> Come on - you knew who Chloe barged into, right? 
> 
> I hope this was a good Lucifer dose for you! I know it's weird when he's absent from a chapter. You'll find I alternate POV a fair bit during this fic - I find it quite refreshing to switch head spaces. Were you able to keep up? I'm a worrier.


	4. Chapter 4

Lucifer bared his teeth as he watched Chloe deliberately shift to block Lilith and her Lilim’s line of sight to him.  Trust it to be Chloe who decided to protect the _Devil_ in _Hell_ ; she was absolutely and completely and utterly stupid. Although he couldn’t crush the pride he felt as his Detective raised her chin in defiance and looked one of his most deadly demons straight in the eye without flinching. “Looks like you found me.” 

This was ludicrous, Lucifer was about to get up from where he’d stumbled against the wall when he noticed Chloe had dropped her hands and had clasped them behind her back, and she was tapping – no not tapping, giving him a message. And quickly. He remembered casually telling Chloe one night late into discussing a case at Lux that he knew Morse code; so _of course_ she was using it to message him. It took him a second to figure out a tap was a dot and a longer beat meant a dash. _I’m fine_. He rolled his eyes. _Be careful._

“What am I going to do with you?” Lilith had approached Chloe, and was a little too close for Lucifer’s comfort but he watched as Chloe deftly and without suspicion smoothly moved, making it look like she was slowly backing away, so Lilith’s back was facing him. He debating tackling, knocking his demon out and taking Chloe and running before she was able to spread the word he’d returned. But he didn’t know if he could knock her and the rest of them out before one of them got to Chloe. She could handle herself, but they had demon blades and she was unarmed. Bloody hell, he _knew_ he shouldn’t have taken the blade off her.

He watched as some demon he had never bothered to learn the name of kick the back of Chloe’s knees and she dropped heavily to the concrete. He was seeing red, rage boiling as his Detective’s hands were wrenched behind her back and tied harshly with rope. She was obviously in pain, her eyes tightened as she glared at Lilith who was babbling about all the things she was going to do to Chloe for escaping. He had to give it to Chloe for not showing an ounce of fear as she was yanked to her feet and shoved forwards.

“ _Move_.” Said Lilith’s lackey as Chloe was shoved forwards again and her feet tripped at the force of the push, she managed to find her balance and remain on her feet. He’d had enough of this, Chloe was not to be pushed around. Taking a step forwards he was about to shove Lilith right into her bloody Lilim when Chloe’s eyes flickered to him for a fraction of a second. He knew he wasn’t in view, she couldn’t see him, but somehow she knew and her look was telling him to _stay put_. Why was she putting him first? It made no sense. Revealing himself wouldn’t put him in danger, not like this was putting her in danger. Unless… a small voice was reminding him of something she’d said to him a few weeks ago just after finally believing his identity. _I trust you._

_She trusted him._

She trusted him to get her out of Hell. And now she was trusting him to get her back. She understood he didn’t want to go back to ruling Hell, and she understood revealing himself would mean the two of them would be down here a lot longer than they both wanted. Chloe was giving him the option, showing him that she trusted him to free her without letting them all know he’d returned.

He couldn’t deny the little swell of unfamiliar emotion that the realization created, making his blood pulse and breathing that tiny bit faster. Staying in the alcove, he vowed to himself she would come to no harm and he would get her out of here even if he had to reveal himself at the crux of it all. She would _not_ be tortured down here, and he would make his demons _understand_ that she was to be admired not pushed around like, like some slave.

He watched, trying to control the undiluted rage he was feeling by curling his hands into fists and promising himself they would _pay_ later, as Chloe’s head was shoved down and the two demons flanking her pushed her away from him and to wherever they were taking her. He had to find that out, and fast. He swallowed the overwhelming urge he had to grab her and forced himself to remain where he was as he watched them walk her away and she vanished amongst the crowd who were quickly dispersing now the prisoner had been found.

Once the alley was clear, he stepped out of the shadows and took a second to compose himself before calling the only person who would, perhaps, help him. He closed his eyes… and prayed: _Amenadiel, oh brother, I need your feathery ass down in Hell. Now._ When he didn’t get an answer he gritted his teeth and forced more power behind it, along with a tiny sense of urgency to show how serious he was: _Now, Chloe’s in trouble and I need your help._

There was a flutter and Amenadiel appeared before him. “I wondered how long it would take you to call me.”

“Yes, well, as much as I enjoy our little back and fourths, at the moment there isn’t time,” Lucifer forced a careless grin, “I’m happy to hash it out later brother, but for now I need you to create a distraction.”

Amenadiel frowned, his expression that was usually so composed betraying a little confusion. “You want me to what?”

“Fly your arse into the sky and _do_ something that will draw attention,” Lucifer pointed at the sky, “now please.”

“Lucifer, I am not yours to command,” Amenadiel sighed.

Realizing he was gathering himself to leave, Lucifer quickly stepped forwards and enunciated quickly as he spoke. “ _Yes_ , I know that. I’m not stupid,” he paused, hesitating but Amenadiel hadn’t left, yet, and his calmly raised eyebrow said he was listening, “Chloe’s in trouble. I need to get her out from Lilith’s clutches, and I can’t do that with every willy-nilly demon knowing I’m here, can I?”

“I’m not sure-”

“Amenadiel, this is Chloe. I can’t leave her down here.” It wasn’t often he showed emotion other than contempt, irritation, or arrogance towards his brother but right now he bored himself open; letting Amenadiel see how important this was, “ _please,_ ” he placed a hand on his shoulder.  

There was a beat of silence as Amenadiel looked at the hand, before meeting his eyes and letting out a deep regretful sigh, waving him off. “Very well Luci, I’ll draw them away.”

This time the grin Lucifer gave was real, lighting up his entire face. “ _Great_ -”

“- _but_ , it won’t work for long so act quickly.” He stepped backwards and unfurled his wings as he prepared to take flight, cutting off what Lucifer was going to say, “go get your Detective.” He shot upwards, his figure becoming a blur with how fast he took off and came to a sudden stop midair, wings stretching out as he hovered for a second before bellowing across the whole of Hell, “ _Lilith, I need to speak with you.”_ Lucifer grinned to himself as he felt the hustle of demons around him as they noticed and registered Amenadiel’s command. “ _I demand, in the name of God, that you come before me now.”_

Quickly reappearing where the lesser important souls were kept, the one’s who’s crimes where simple things like adultery, gambling, and debauchery. Lucifer began waltzing down the pathways and opening the doors. It didn’t take him a second, a push of his hand and they opened revealing the rest of Hell to the damned souls forever locked in their personal tortures. He didn’t stop to explain to them as they rushed out to what they thought was probably freedom – that was going to one hell of a clean-up later – and continued opening doors as he marched along the pathways towards his palace. Vanishing into the shadows whenever a shocked demon appeared to try shove the lost souls back to their cells. If his heart wasn’t beating so abnormally fast he would have found the disturbance amusing as they all rushing around like lost sheep as the demons tried, and failed, to herd them up.

He watched, pressing himself against a wall, as Lilith soured up into the sky and met with Amenadiel high above Hell. What Amenadiel was saying to keep her distracted, Lucifer couldn’t care less, and instead used the distraction his brother was providing him to slide through the shadows into the center of his domain.

He remained in a side alley, watching as demons scarpered around in panic towards where the escaped souls were pouring from. One ran directly his way and he smoothly reached out, grabbing him by the collar. Said demon yelped as he was slammed against the wall back in the hidden safety of the alley, eyes widening in shock as he realized who held him and managed to stammer out; “m-my lord?”

“Yes, yes, it’s me,” Lucifer rolled his eyes, not having time for the terrified creatures stutters, “tell me where they took the girl.”

Its eyes were still wide. “Who, Sir?”

Lucifer narrowed his eyes, flashing red with Hellfire, and growled out. “I don’t have time for _games_. Tell me where they took her and I’ll let you go unpunished.”

“The angry blue eyed soul who took out two of Lilith’s Lilim?”

Lucifer smirked to himself, that’s how Chloe had gotten the blade. “Yes, her. Where did Lilith put her?”

“Amenadiel called her before she could take her to the pits, Sir, she’s chained up inside your palace.”

Burying his wince upon finding out where Lilith was going to take his Detective, the pits were not even worth thinking about at the moment – if he started thinking about Chloe there then this demon would be torn apart. He nodded, straining his hands against the demons collar, “good.” Before waiting for answer he slammed the insolent little demons head against the wall and knocked him out. He watched in satisfaction as it slid down the wall into a silent pile at his feet.

Time to get Chloe out of here.

He slipped around the back of his palace, gliding in through the back door and into the basement. He quickly checked the cells on the way to the steps, knowing Lilith wouldn’t have put her down here but still double checking. He jogged up the steps and into the grand hallway. It looked exactly the as he’d left it. Despite it only being five years on Earth, it must have been centuries down here and yet nothing had changed; not even a picture or a rug was out of place. He shook his head, before silently moving towards the throne room. There was no one around, all looking for the escaped souls or probably flanking Lilith, so there was no need to hide as he strolled through his hallways. There were two places Lilith could have chained Chloe, and the other was his chambers and he highly doubted anyone had stepped in there since he’d departed on his sabbatical.

Despite being the very place all human souls were afraid of. Writing books, films, television shows about it being basked in fire and blood, Hell was actually quite a clean place. There wasn’t a speck of dust, usually, he ran his finger across a shelf as he waltzed past and was pleased to find it come away clean. He pushed open the huge dark oak double doors into a room he hadn’t stepped into for years. The temperature was always slightly warmer in here; one stereotype the humans got right was the Devil’s preference for warmth over cold. But it wasn’t scorching, just enough to feel like you could get a tan – if there was a sun.

Scanning the room out of habit, his gaze landing on his throne in the center looking quite empty and abandoned; he shrugged off the slight guilt of leaving his domain without leadership for so long. His eyes moved to the single pair chains on the wall to the side of his throne; where Chloe lay unmoving on her side on the floor, her hair spilled around her form in what he ironically would have called similarity to a halo. She must have been giving his demons a hard time for them to knock her out, he grinned at the thought of his Detective refusing to be silenced easily.

Quickly strolling across the room, he breathed a sigh of relief as she seemed otherwise unharmed. He crouched down beside her, noting the red marks around her wrists where the chains had rubbed her skin raw. Thank his father her jeans had protected her ankles as she wouldn’t have been much use not able to stand. Luckily they didn’t look infected, just painful. Yes souls could heal, quite fast – important otherwise they wouldn’t be so much fun to punish if they took forever to mend, but unless she was one hundred percent health wise he couldn’t get her out of here; damaged souls were hard to fix. Reaching out carefully he placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her. “Chloe?”

Her body must have still been on high alert because her eyes sprung open almost immediately, zoning in on him in a daze as she scrambled upwards, wincing as the chains pulled and restricted her movement. He gave her a second to get her bearings as she calmed herself; before she peered at him closely. “Lucifer?”

He grinned at her, “only me,” he held his hands up slowly to show her he was safe, “the prince of darkness delivering his promised jail break.”

Ignoring his statement her eyes narrowed her eyes slowly; she glanced behind him before looking puzzled. “How did you get in here?” He raised an eyebrow pointedly, declining to answer that particular statement and a small smile appeared at the corner of her lips as she internally answered her own question. “Right.” She nodded to herself.

 _Lucifer_. Amenadiel’s voice rang in his head and he internally scowled. His brother had such good timing as always. _I can’t keep Lilith distracted any longer, she’s… suspicious._

He made sure Amenadiel could tell his annoyance at the timing as he replied; but was otherwise grateful for the warning. _Thanks for the heads up brother._

_Luci, be careful._

Internally rolling his eyes upwards he made sure his brother knew he was scowling _. Could you do me a favor and collect Maze?_

 _I am not your errand boy Luci._ There was a mental insufferable sigh, and Lucifer smirked to himself at how annoyed his brother could sound even via angel radio _. This is the last thing I am doing to help you._

Lucifer didn’t bother replying to his brother, knowing his most loyal demon would be with him soon. He needed her just in case it all went tits up while getting Chloe and himself out of here. Chloe had remained silent through his internal conversation, obviously figuring out something was happening that she wasn’t privy too. He decided he’d explain to her later; and answer any questions she wasn’t most definitely eager to ask him. Her eyes were always full of questions.

He moved to the chains around her ankles, and she shifted to give him better access. He snapped the bolt on her left ankle easily, and she immediately circled her ankle to get the feeling back into it as he moved to the other ankle, quickly snapping that one and letting it clatter to the concrete. He was going to need new chains he thought vaguely as he moved to her wrists. She hissed slightly, breath whizzing through her teeth, as his fingers grazed the damaged skin on her wrist. “Oops, sorry,” he looked up at her to find her watching him warily and shot a playful grin at her as a distraction, “you know these chains were usually used for things much more _nefarious_ ,” he purred the word so she knew what he meant, “than torture.”

She pulled a face, “that’s disgusting,” before wincing as he broke the cuff and moved onto her final wrist.

“Also, my subjects are usually gagged.” He coughed, trying to imagine Chloe like that was nigh impossible. She would probably bite him… hmm…

 “-You are _never_ gagging me.” She glowered at him, sending him death glares. “ _Ever_.”

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” Carefully to avoid her skin this time he placed his fingers either side of the bolts, wrapping them around the metal cuff. She cursed as he snapped the last bond, her other hand immediately coming to rub her wrists and he shot her a lecherous grin, “besides your mouth is much more fun ungagged.”

She didn’t answer him. She’d frozen, breath halted in her throat as her eyes widened and fixed on a point behind his shoulder. He stilled, feeling the tension in his shoulders as he briefly met eyes with her, “ _busted_ ”, he mumbled in question. She nodded quickly her eyes holding his before flicking back behind him. He sighed deeply before dropping his hands from her arm and pushing himself to his feet; sending her an apologetic smile and bracing himself before turning around to find Lilith staring at him in astonishment, her mouth agape.

He plastered a smile on his face. “ _Lilith_ , darling.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so badly sunburned that my family have taken to calling me a tomato because I look apparently hilarious. Internally suffering indoors and away from the sun now means that this has blossomed even further and is now currently on 40 pages. 
> 
> It'll probably be longer.
> 
> So, I suppose, enjoy the ride! I hope this chapter was sufficient! We all love a little bit of Lucifer's headspace, right? 
> 
> Also - anyone catch the small Supernatural reference? I couldn't stop myself.


	5. Chapter 5

Watching as Lucifer swallowed tightly, his shoulders stiffening as he locked eyes with her and his gaze slightly questioning as he muttered, “ _busted_.”

She nodded at him, eyes re-landing on Lilith standing just in the entryway of the doors. The arch above her making her look a lot less intimidating as she stared at Lucifer’s back, her mouth slightly agape. Chloe hadn’t really given much thought into them being caught, nor had she thought about Lucifer’s attitude towards his demons. She’d seen how he was with Maze, generally respectful – sometimes, though rarely, asserting his authority to which Maze quickly obeyed - but that was Earth and she guessed a little different.

Lilith quickly schooled her expression into an alluring smile as Lucifer pushed himself to his feet, sending her a small apologetic smile before spinning around, throwing his arms into the air with a casual flare and a large grin plastered on his face. “ _Lilith_ , darling!”

Said demon shuffled forwards a few quick steps before obviously catching herself and stopping abruptly. The two demons from earlier were also with her and Chloe briefly wondered if these two were her left and right hands – so to speak – as they seemed to follow her everywhere. Lilith was biting her lip, voice inquisitive as she looked up at Lucifer. “My lord. Is it really you?”

“Yes. I decided it was time for a visit.” Chloe knew he was keeping his voice purposely cheerful, and felt terrible. The fact he was back here was all her fault and now they were probably stuck here for an unknown amount of time. Her stomach sank at that and a lump raised in her throat, which she promptly swallowed back down. She would not cry, not here. She could handle this… after all Lucifer was on her side, right?

“I knew something felt different.” Lilith’s voice was unnaturally high and Chloe wanted to snap at her to stop being so darn fake with all the sucking up, but she managed to keep her voice quiet and resigned herself to grumbling under her breath as she pushed herself onto her knees, sick of slouching on the floor. Lilith glanced at her for a millisecond. “Then Amenadiel showed up, and now you’re here, and-” she paused, head tilting slightly as a puzzled expression flitted across her face. Her eyes landed on Chloe before flicking back to Lucifer. “Wait, what are you doing with the soul?”

Chloe grimaced, she really did not like being reduced to an unnamed, she guessed, – species. It was not nice having your identity taken away and she was just about to throw it all in and remind Lilith that she did indeed have a name when Lucifer growled. It was so low in his throat that Chloe figured it was only her who heard it. “I’m untying her from where you so rudely, may I add, chained her up,” Lilith was about to reply but Lucifer held up a finger and Lilith’s mouth snapped closed, “ah ah. The soul is named Chloe Decker, and she happens to be quite the kickass Detective.”

Chloe knew he added the last bit for her benefit but couldn’t help the small smile that she knew had appeared on her lips and shook her head at him despite him not being able to see her.

“But, Sir, why are you letting her _free_. Shouldn’t she be with the other souls?” Lilith had pranced forwards a few steps, eyeballing Chloe as she came closer, “here let me and I’ll put he-”

Lucifer smoothly stepped in front of Chloe; blocking Lilith’s path. “Do not touch her.”

“Sire?” Lilith’s eyes flicked uncertainly between Chloe and Lucifer.

“I know Chloe from my time on Earth.” It was then Chloe realized he had his hands clasped behind his back and was wafting the demon blade in the air, tapping it against the back of his thigh. Chloe hesitated but gingerly reached up to take it, curling it into her palm as she found the courage to stand up. Lucifer’s eyes flicked to her as she stepped beside him, and she knew she’d done the right thing. “She is not to be touched.”

It was clear Lilith had thought her lord and master had gone insane as she looked between the two of them. “I don’t understand, you let her stand by your side?” Lilith scowled, glaring at Chloe, “but she’s _human_ Sir,” her voice spat the word ‘human’ as though it was some venereal disease and Chloe couldn’t help bristling at the insult. She would have been more intimidating if Chloe couldn’t feel the emanating heat from Lucifer as he withheld his anger.

She risked a glance up at him to find him glaring at the demon standing just that tiny bit too close for comfort in front of them. When Lucifer spoke his voice more closely resembled a growl than it did speech, and it echoed with an authority that Chloe felt right down to her bones. “Do you dare question me, Lilith?”

Lilith took a step back, and then another as Lucifer continued to glare at her. Chloe could feel him quietly vibrating next to her as he fought to keep a handle on his control and she carefully, making sure she didn’t surprise him and wary of the consequences when he was this angry, placed a hand on his lower arm. “Lucifer, hey, it’s okay. I’m _fine_.”

Her voice seemed to snap Lilith out of whatever stupor Lucifer held over her and she snapped her head to glare at Chloe; “She’s a _human_.”

Chloe bridled, she was sick to death of this woman demon and her flouncy attitude, “- _and_?” Chloe snapped, very much wanting to shove the demon blade still encased in her palm up the irritating demons backside.

“Be quiet human; I’m not talking to you.”

She didn’t get much time to act on her anger though as Lucifer had obviously had enough of his demons insubordinate manner. Faster than Chloe’s eyes could process he had left her side and had Lilith held up against a wall by her throat, teeth bared as Lilith choked. Eyes wide and panicked, her legs floundering kicking at nothing as she gasped. “How _dare_ you. How dare you deny _my_ authority, and how _dare_ you speak to her that way.”

Chloe’s eyes searched out the two demons who had been flanking Lilith, their eyes were on her as they completely ignored Lilith’s struggle. She wasn’t interested in the well-being of the demon currently struggling against Lucifer’s hold, but speeding to Lucifer’s side she slid in-between him and Lilith, placing both her hands on his chest. She was still a good head and a half smaller than he was so she had to crane her head to look up at him. “Lucifer,” completely blanking her, he continued to strangle his demon. She hardened her voice. “ _Lucifer_ , stop!”

Still he ignored her, still throttling his demon, his knuckles going white with the strain. Doing the only thing she could think of, she braced herself and shoved him, _hard_. Despite probably barely feeling it his eyes flickered down to hers for the briefest of seconds. “Why are you trying to _help_ her? She’s _my_ demon and I can do whatever the Hell I wish to her.” He ground out between his teeth as he tightened his grip on Lilith’s throat and she wheezed.

Chloe made sure she kept her voice steady as she spoke. “I know Lucifer. I’m not telling you to _stop;_ I’m telling you not to do this for _me_.”

He was listening to her, as puzzlement crossed over his features and his grip loosened a fraction from Lilith’s neck. “What?”

Swallowing, Chloe kept her hands on Lucifer’s chest and curled them gently to get a stronger grip. “Look at me,” he hesitated so she tightened her grasp further, “Lucifer _, look at me_.” After a few painful seconds his head moved and his eyes were boring into hers. She smiled reassuringly at him. “I’m okay. Despite all the crap that’s happened, I’m still _here_ ,” she paused, tilting her head a little thinking about her body on Earth probably beginning to go cold and withheld a wince, “mostly.”

His eyes softened as he looked at her. “Chloe-”

She shook her head a little, loosening her grip on his shirt and slipping out from between them. “You can do whatever you want with her; just _don’t_ make it about me.”

“I-” he paused, his eyes hardening as he looked back at his demon still struggling in his grip. He shoved her harshly against the wall and let go, pulling back as her body dropped to the floor like lead. He looked at her in disdain, “I’ll deal with you later.”

Chloe looked at him, a small smile crossing her features as Lucifer stepped away from his demon.

“You-” Lilith pushed herself up on the floor, warily glancing at Lucifer, to Chloe, and back again, “-you let her speak to you that way?”

He didn’t bother answering her, eyes skating over her form and moving to the two demons who were still standing just inside the door. They nodded at Lucifer in respect, one turning and walking quickly away without a word. The other remaining where it was and studiously ignoring Lilith slumped on the floor, easily transitioning from Lilith’s lackey to Lucifer’s bodyguard. Chloe wondered if it was the one that remained silent earlier, or the other one, the one who was so – _rude_ – to her. She narrowed her eyes as it neatly avoiding looking at her, before forcing herself to look away. She figured she knew which one it was.

Chloe’s eyes dropped to Lilith on the floor, a little unsure now Lucifer’s back was turned that she wouldn’t leap up and attack. But, she jumped a little as Lucifer’s hand unexpectedly linked with hers – she hadn’t noticed him approach - Lilith _was_ Lucifer’s demon and she knew she wouldn’t dare defy him. Although Chloe was still a little on edge, and she wouldn’t trust Lilith as far as she could throw her. Not that, she figured, she _could_ throw Lilith very far… she startled as a loud bell donged somewhere in the distance. It resonated through her and she jolted at the sudden loudness cutting through the silence. It rang again, twice, before dying out to a faint ringing in her ears. Lucifer squeezed her hand to get her attention, and she looked up at him in confusion seeing the amused grin spread across his face as he tugged her hand. “Come on.”

“Um, what?” He was pulling her towards two heavy looking doors across the room from them. “Lucifer, what are you doing?”

He stopped in front of the doors, hand braced to push as his eyes bored into hers. “I promised that no harm would come to your on behalf of my demons. Until they understand you are not to be touched I cannot guarantee your safety while I’m not around-”

Chloe felt a surge of dread well up in her, threatening to take over but she repressed it by swallowing harshly. “We’re going to be here for a while,” her eyes searched his face, “aren’t we?”

He sent her a small apologetic smile, eyes promising to talk to her about it later before he squeezed a little more pressure onto her hand to reassure her. “Ready?”

Frowning, she looked at him in confusion, her brows coming together as his smile turned sly, conspiring, as it lit up his whole face and his eyes glittered. She looked at him in suspicion. “For what-? Lucifer, what are-” she tried to pry her hand back but he simply held her hand tighter and pushed open the heavy looking doors.

The first thing she noticed was the overwhelming brightness and she slammed her eyes shut almost immediately. This wasn’t the normal transition from the darkness of inside to bright outside stimulation, this was _bright,_ and she winced at the onslaught on her senses. “What the Hell?”

“That’s the Morningstar.” Lucifer commented, still holding onto her hand, “give it a second and your eyes will adjust.”

He was right, once the light behind her closed lids dimmed a bit she squinted open her eyes. “ _That_ wasn’t there earlier.” She peered at the bright ball of light in the sky, looking very much like a sun except it wasn’t resonating heat.

“The kings back in the house.” Lucifer smirked, following her eyes to stare at it as well. “It rises when I’m here.”

“Like the flag at Buckingham Palace,” Chloe grumbled, remembering her trip to London as a child and the tour guide droning on, bored of constantly repeating the same speech over and over, that the sovereign flag was raised when the Queen was home. A way for her subjects to know. “How-” she paused, sending a side glance to Lucifer, “incredibly, _noble_ of you.”

He shrugged; sending her a large, definitely smug, grin. “May as well make the most of being stuck back in this place.”

She rolled her eyes. “Is that all you wanted to show me? Because as – _enlightening_ – as it is Lucifer,” he pulled a face at her pun, “I’d rather like to go back inside now.” She was feeling rather, exposed, standing out here on Lucifer’s balcony.

“In a minute Detective,” he pulled her forwards a little from where she still hung in the doorway, “ _look_ -” he turned back to her and raised a challenging eyebrow.

She regarded him silently for a minute before sighing, figuring he wasn’t going to stop until he’d shown her whatever it was he wanted to show her. She braced her shoulders, squaring herself before stepping forwards. He was clearly feeling impatient, “come on-” he pulled her a little bit more and she dug her heels in, folding one arm over herself.

“How far do you want me to walk Lucifer?” She eyed him apprehensively before turning her head to the balcony railing. “You’re not going to push me over the edge are you?”

“Ha ha, Detective, very funny,” his eyes taking on that cunning glint as he tugged on her hand and arched an eyebrow, “plus that would be rather,” he paused, regarding her slowly a slow smile appearing on his lips as he pulled her slowly, purposely, “counterproductive.”

She frowned, confusion winning out over self-preservation as she allowed him to pull her forwards slightly. Peering over the edge of the railing on his balcony, her eyes widened as she took in the crowd gathering in what she guessed was the palace’s courtyard. Sending a side glance to Lucifer, she watched as what she guessed were Lucifer’s demons congregated, and sighed deeply.“As _fun_ as it probably is for you Lucifer to see all your-” she paused for a second before pushing back from the edge, “people come to hail your return, I fail to see why I need to be here.”

He pouted, his voice whiney like a petulant child as he stated at her, “but _Detective_ -”

She sighed, gently pulling her hand back and folding her arms as she stepped away out of sight. “You do what you came out here to do,” she waved her hands towards the general direction of the courtyard, “I’ll be inside when you decide you need me.” She pointed a thumb back indoors and moved to head back inside when Lucifer slid into her path, his hands landing on her shoulders. She glowered at him, “ _what_?”

“Just,” he paused, his gaze scrutinizing as he regarded her, “watch.” He pulled away and headed towards the front of the balcony, shooting a glance her way. “Stay, please.”

She grumbled in her throat, pivoting on her feet to glare at the back of his head as she refolded her arms over chest this time in irritation, “ _fine,_ ” watching as he spread his arms out widely and shouting a greeting at the crowd. “Show off.” She muttered under her breath and shook her head.

“Hello!” His voice rang out above the courtyard and Chloe edged forward slightly in curiosity; coming to a stop just behind him and rolling her eyes as his – _subjects_ – dropped to their knees, and Lucifer grinned as he hammed it up. “As much as I’d love to stay and answer all your little questions about where I’ve been, and what I’ve been doing, I simply do not have the time. But as I’m sure you all heard the bell, yes, I can inform you I have returned,” he paused and Chloe knew it was only her who heard his mumbled ‘for now’ before he re-raised his voice, “but I haven’t returned alone.”

The crowd bristled, a few glancing at her as they began to stand up, and Chloe’s eyes widened. What was he doing? “Lucifer, no-” His eyes glinted in amusement as he glanced back at her, placing his hand on her lower back and pushing her forwards slightly. She tried to side step away. “ _Stop it_.”

He seemed to sense the slight alarm to her voice as she tried to get away and he stopped pushing her, turning his back on the courtyard as he rubbed her upper arms, eyes meeting her worried ones. “I’m not having you pushed and pulled around again Detective.” He swallowed, his eyes tightening. “This is as much for me as for you.”

Regarding him slowly, she searched his face realizing how gravely serious he was as he stared at her. “Lucifer-”

He cut her off. “You saw how it was with Lilith. I’m not having you in _any_ danger while you’re here. I gave you my word,” he held up his hands and waved in the direction of his people, “this is me keeping it.”

Biting the inside of her cheek she shook her head at him. She was never a people person and the thought of being up here while they were _down there_ looking at her. Her heartrate increased, “I don’t-”

Sensing her panic he moved to reassure her, “you don’t have to say anything.”

She debated her options for a second, scrutinizing his face he looked earnestly at her, before setting her shoulders and gritting her teeth. She wasn’t a coward. “Okay.” She nodded, heart jackhammering and her stomach in her throat she repeated herself as she nodded again. “Okay.”

He grinned, before taking her hand and pulling her up next to him. She went with him, crushing the urge she had to high tail it out of there and perhaps hide under Lucifer’s bed until it all went away. None of it felt real. She should be at home, with Trixie wrapped in her arms as she read her a bedtime story, chasing her little monkey as she refused to go to sleep. Yet she was here, standing next to Lucifer… it all felt- so _surreal_. Yet she held her head high and felt Lucifer squeeze her hand in reassurance as she stood at his side. “This is Chloe. Yes she’s human, and yes she will be remaining by my side while I’m here.” She shot him a side glance, wondering where he was going with this but stayed silent, inwardly plotting all the ways she could murder him later. “Her soul is untainted, and it is to remain that way-”

“Lucifer, what are you doing?” She muttered under her breath, and he shot her a side glance his lips tilting up slightly in a way that told her to trust him.

His voice was commanding as he spoke, echoing across his people and Hell. “You are to treat her as my equal. She is to be respected and admired. Is that _understood_?” There was no misunderstanding what he was talking about and Chloe looked at him in shock. She was _what_? She gritted her teeth and swallowed her angry rant. That would be for later, when she’d consider shooting him – if only she had her gun, and if only they weren’t _already_ in Hell. She watched as the crowd rumbled, staring at her. Gritting her teeth she kept her expression as stoic as she was able when all she wanted to do was scream at how absurd all this was; but she kept her expression level and as self-controlled as she could. Trying to keep the widening of her eyes as minimal as possible as Lucifer’s demons began bowing their heads one by one.

“What the-?” She mumbled under her breath and Lucifer chuckled, squeezing her hand before letting go and re-addressing the crowd. “Good,” he proceeded to wave them off dismissively, “now go back to doing whatever you were doing.” The crowd quickly dispersed, some taking to the air, as they – Chloe guessed – went back to work. She cringed at the thought of what that _work_ actually was and had to remind herself that the souls down here were down here for a _reason_. She was just an exception.

She waited until the courtyard was clear before she exploded at him. “What the _Hell_ was that?” She pushed past him and stepped back inside his throne room, spinning to glare at him as he waltzed in behind her. “What do you think you’re doing!?” She was so mad; he couldn’t just spring something like that on her and not expect her to react.

“They need to see you are not to be harmed.” He approached her, his eyes shifting to Lilith who was now standing and leaning against the wall. Somehow remaining perfectly calm as she raged. “That was the only way I could think of to get them to understand Chloe.”

She ran a hand through her hair, tugging it as she pulled in frustration. “You couldn’t have thought to give me a heads up?” She scowled at him, “I don’t like crowds Lucifer. You _know_ that. I’ve had enough of _that,”_ she waved her hands at him and the direction of his balcony, “to last anyone several lifetimes.” She was thinking about the media adoration she got when she’d shown her body off on camera; the constant underlying tension she got from her co-workers after the Palmetto case and Malcolm crap. Attention was _not_ something she craved. She folded her arms, her anger leeching out of her as she glared at him. There was no point shouting if he wasn’t going to cooperate; he was so, _so_ infuriating. “ _I hate you.”_

He laughed at her grumble, coming up to wrap his hands around her lower arms. “No you don’t.”

Not dropping her glare, she narrowed her eyes. “I do.”

“Don’t.” He nudged her shoulder, and carefully peeled her hands from under her arms and took them in his own. “Now would you stop moping and-”

He cut himself off, his eyes landing on something behind her a huge grin lighting up his features as he exclaimed, “Maze!”  Chloe turned herself around so she stood next to him, shoulder to shoulder, and stared at the familiar demon who was now standing in the doorway watching them through narrowed eyes. She would never admit to her how- how _grateful_ , she actually was to see another recognizable face. “ _Finally_. I was wondering how much longer it would take my brother to get you here.”

“He’s a busy person.” Mazikeen brushed his remark off and looked between them skeptically, eyes landing on her for a second before calming switching back to Lucifer as she smoothly folded her arms. “What have I missed here?”

Clapping his hands loudly, Lucifer grinned widely and Chloe rolled her eyes in response. “ _Lots!_ ”

“He made her his equal.” Lilith pushed herself off the wall, eyeing Mazikeen as she wandered over to them. “She’s to be _respected_ ,” a glare was sent in their direction, “a _mortal_.”

Sighing, Mazikeen looked disdainfully at Lilith and Chloe immediately figured out she was not fond of the other demon, briefly wondering what had happened between them. Lucifer’s closest bodyguard rolled her eyes partially and turned to look at her. “Chloe.” She nodded.

“Mazikeen.” She nodded back.

Lilith looked between them incredulously. “You _know_ this human woman?”

Waving a hand Maze brushed off Lilith’s remark. “Lucifer was always overly fond of her on Earth.”

Throwing an arm over her shoulder, Lucifer pulled her into his side, “and she’ll be going back there. Soon.”

“Wait, you’re _leaving_ again?” Lilith stared at him, mouth slightly agape.

“Eventually, yes. I have matters to attend to on Earth and Chloe will be coming with me.” Lucifer strolled forwards, pushing himself into Lilith’s space. “Is that a problem?”

“No, Sir.” Lilith shook her head quickly.

Lucifer’s smile lit up the whole room. “Good!” He spun back to Chloe and she raised an eyebrow at him as he waltzed back over and linked his hand with hers. Chloe marveled at how familiar that move was becoming without really thinking about it.

She stared at their joined hands for a second before craning her head to look up at him. He met her eyes for a beat, searching her face before he nodded, understanding she needed some alone time with him - they needed to talk.

Lucifer looked at the two female demons in the room. “You can get started without me,” he squeezed her hand to get her attention, “come on, I’m sure you have _plenty_ of questions,” he drawled as he began pulling her out of the room. “I’ll be happy to answer all of them, and _more_ ,” and she glowered at him, rolling her eyes in exasperation as they left throne room and into the – thankfully - cooler hallway and to wherever Lucifer was leading her as he pulled her through his palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And enter Maze.
> 
> Thoughts? I feed off your comments (not sounding creepy at all). On Saturday I will be going for a weekend away to London, and then to Devon for a week, so there will be probably regular daily updates until Saturday and from then on whenever I can find wifi. Hopefully often - we can hope.


	6. Chapter 6

She had thrown herself sidewards on his bed, legs dangling off the edge and arm half over her face covering her eyes. He was leaning against one of the posters with his arms folded and watching her as she breathed, chest rising and falling evenly and slowly. A soft smile on his lips as a comfortable silence settled over them. This was the first moment they’d had where it was just, _them_ , and he hadn’t realized how much he missed how his Detective could just bring him… _peace_. She calmed all the loud clamoring thoughts in his head without even realizing the impact she had.

He had briefly shown her around, where the kitchen was and the dining room, library, along with his study. She had snooped around, the detective curiosity kicking in as she began picking up papers before realizing she couldn’t understand most of what was written on them. Then finally his bedroom; where she’d promptly unceremoniously collapsed herself onto his bed.

“How long will it have been now?” While he had been internally distracted he hadn’t noticed Chloe’s change in position, and she was now turned on her side, head popped up by her hand, as she quietly regarded him.

He didn’t pretend to not understand her question, and pushing himself off the wooden poster he came to sit beside her, the bed dipping slightly under his weight. She tracked him as he moved, shifting her position so she could see him better. “Not long enough for us to have been found.” He answered, eyes scanning her face.

Breathing out a sound of frustrated bewilderment, she dropped her hand and flopped onto the bed, hair fanning out around her as she stared at the ceiling above them. “I’m never going to understand how that works,” she turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow, “am I?”

He shrugged a shoulder, pulling a face as he thought about it. “Not even I understand most of it. Something to do with different dimensions. Time is slower on the Earthly plane than it is down here.”

“Sounds like something out of Doctor Who,” she mumbled.

He cracked a grin at her frustrated expression, her eyebrows pulled together as she frowned in disgruntlement. “Exactly. It’s all _wibbly wobbly_. The more you try to understand it, the more it hurts your head.” He regarded her carefully as she stared upwards, her eyes tracing the patterns in the ceiling. “You’re handling this pretty well,” he noted, arching an eyebrow.

“What can I do about it?” She muttered, blinking as she stared at nothing. “I’m pretty much stuck here until you do,” she scowled, turned her head to look at him, “ _whatever_ it is you have to do.”

Frowning as he thought about the escaped soul clean-up he still had to do, among _other_ things; he raised his shoulders, and pulling his head down between them as he shrugged his head in apology. He’d tell her but he knew she didn’t really want to know. Ignorance is bliss he figured and if she asked he’d gladly explain but until – or _if_ – she did he’d remain stumped. “Hell stuff.”

She hummed in acknowledgement, her face scrunching up as she fought not to think about it. “How long will your _Hell stuff_ take?”

He winced, “I’ll delegate,” he crossed his legs and folded his hands on top, “that’s why I got Maze back down here, she’ll help.”

“So how long is _long_?” She probed, pushing herself up onto her elbows, suspicion clouding her gaze. “Lucifer?”

He held her eyes for a second, before looking away and brushing imaginary dust from his trousers as he answered, “a few weeks?” He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, trying to ignore her crest fallen expression, “maybe longer.”

Her breath hitched, voice breaking a little as she spoke. “I miss Trixie.”

Placing a hand on her shoulder he tried to reassure her. “I promise when we return you won’t have missed _anything_ Chloe.”

“I know, I know.” She pushed him off and waved a hand as she looked away trying to compose herself. “That doesn’t stop me missing her.”

He couldn’t pretend to understand the love between a mother and her daughter. He’d never liked children or understood why people had miniature versions of themselves running around, although Trixie was nearly as intriguing as her mother. All exuberant energy and bounce as she’d launched herself at him. He did admire the little brat, sort of, not that he’d be telling her mother that. “I know,” he nudged her shoulder trying to lighten the mood. “If it’s any consolation you’ll have plenty of bedtime stories for her when you return.”

Rolling her eyes she slumped back onto the bed. “Ha ha. Very funny Lucifer. Because telling my daughter about all our adventures in Hell will definitely help her sleep.” She sent him a look of exasperation.

“I suppose I could see why that wouldn’t be such a good idea.” He grinned at her, his mood slightly uplifted as an exasperated Chloe was not a moping one, and much easier to deal with. “Although I’m sure I can find something you’d like to tell her.”

Her brows pulled together in vexation as her voice stressed in incredulity. “In _Hell_?”

Grinning at her, he smoothly pulled himself to his feet and stretched out a hand to her, “not all of Hell is _bad_.”

Scoffing as she looked at his hand, re-propping herself on her elbows she looked at him like he’d gone insane. “ _Really_?”

He waggled his fingers at her, “I’ll show you. Come on.”

“I’m not going out _there_.” She thumbed behind her at the window. “I’ve had enough of _that_ , thank you.”

He met her eyes, showing her how serious he was as he leaned down to her height. “No harm will come to you.”

She looked dubious as she stared at his still offered hand. “Lucifer-”

He raised his eyebrows in proposition as she regarded him slowly. He could tell she was considering his offer before asking him a question he was internally debating himself now he no longer had his wings. “How are we going to get anywhere? Hell is _huge.”_ She looked at him pointedly.

He thought for a second. “I have the ability to transport myself places while I’m down here.”

She blinked, pushing herself forwards so she was sitting up so they were practically face to face. “Yes, but didn’t you think that was dangerous in case you screw it up?”

“I used to be proficient at it,” he tilted his head, “It’s just been a while.”

She gestured at herself. “Well I like me being _all_ here; with everything attached.”

He chuckled at her dubious and indecisive expression. “We should be fine.”

“Should isn’t good enough.” She grumbled, folding her arms and scowling.

He sighed, rolling his eyes and rocked himself back onto his heels as he pushed himself upwards. “Very well-” she looked at him curiously as he stepped away from her, but instead of answering he vanished, finding Maze who cursed as he grabbed her arm and transported them back into his bedroom where Chloe was still staring at the spot he’d vanished from.

“What the fuck?” Maze growled, shoving him away from her. “Lucifer, are you insane?”

He grinned, eyes dancing as he looked at his demon. “I’m showing the Detective that she should be perfectly fine if I take her out with me.”

“And you decided to use me as a _demonstration_?”

Shrugging a shoulder, he ignored Maze’s silent contempt as she growled under her breath and left his bedroom, heading back where she’d come from. He chucked, looking at Chloe, “I used to do that _all_ the time.”

She was still looking uncertainly at where Maze had walked out, blinking and turning back to Lucifer she frowned. “What?”

“Boredom is a terrible burden-”

She sounded incredulous. “So you just _teleported_ Maze around to random places?”

 “I do not _teleport_ ,” he huffed at her in indignation, and waved a hand in the air. “I’m not some campy superhero.”

She stared at him for a second before laughing, her eyes crinkling in amusement. “Sure, whatever you say Lucifer.”

“I am not!” He folded his arms in frustration at her laughter.

Humming, she beamed, the smile lighting up her face as she stared at him. He stared back, and they remained impassive as they looked each other for a beat before her smirk grew, expression breaking, and she cracked up.

Miffed, he narrowed his eyes at her. “Stop laughing.”

“No, it’s funny.” She chortled, pushing herself upwards a little. “Almost as ridiculous as St. Lucifer.”

“Stop it.” He grumbled.

Once she’d started she obviously wasn’t able to stop, and she braced her hands on her thighs and shook her head as she giggled. “No.”

“ _Detective_ -”

“Can’t,” she wheezed. He closed the space between them and she held a hand up to stop his advance as she tried to control her laughter. “Don’t-” she grinned. “Don’t look at me, it’s making it worse.” She turned away and concentrated by gritting her teeth. “Give me a second.”

He huffed, watching as she struggled, and rolled his eyes. “ _Really_?! It’s not that funny.”

Apparently his voice set it off again because her breath whooshed out her in a rush, hands dropping to her thighs as her shoulders shook. “I-” she giggled, “this whole-”, she glanced at him before quickly looking away, “-it’s all ridiculous.”

He grabbed her shoulders, “stop it.” She tried to push his hands off her as she twisted, he kept his hold and turn her around. She avoided eye contact, laugher in little bursts as she looked over his shoulder, at the ceiling, anywhere but him. “Come on, stop it!” He shook her shoulders a little.

She gasped. “I can’t-”

“Chloe-”

“Luci-” she blinked, holding her breath before releasing it in a rush, “Lucifer-”

He pushed her lightly, “I’m feeling mortified here.” Trying to shove his hands off her, while he maintained his grip, resulted in a small struggle which had their limbs tangling and both losing their balance. Chloe lost her footing, slipping backwards and being so tangled up he went with her. They landed on his bed with one of his hands beside her head and the other trapped underneath her as he held himself up so he didn’t crush her. One of her legs was stretched out, the other bent at the knee at his hip as he rested between her.

She was breathing heavily, hair spread out around her head as her laughter died down to small chuckles and eventually a huge smile as she stared up at him. They remained like that for a few seconds, before Chloe shifted as she realized their position wasn’t exactly uncompromised as every breath she took raised her chest and she brushed against him. He stared at her for a second, watching as her eyes dropped to his lips so fast he was almost sure he imagined it. Her hand rose to his shoulder and she bit her bottom lip, “um-”

He grinned at her, clearing his throat and chuckling. “Well, isn’t this compromising?” her fingers dug into his shoulder and he glanced at her hand for a second; “giving a Devil all _sorts_ of ideas.”  His voice seemed to snap her out of it, and the hand at his shoulder pushed a little.

When he didn’t budge she narrowed her eyes in warning, “Lucifer-”

Sighing deeply, he pulled his hand out from under her, “spoil sport,” he muttered before pulling himself off her and dropped onto his back next to her.

Humming deep in her throat, they both breathed heavily as they stared at the ceiling. There was a few minutes of silence as she got her breath back, before turning her head to look at him. He mirrored her position, his hand under his head as he regarded her. “If I agree to,” she pulled a face, “ _see the sights_ ; do you swear I’ll be fine.”

“I give you my word.” Reaching out he couldn’t stop himself as he traced her cheek with the back of his finger.

Swallowing, her eyes pinning his, she slowly nodded. “Okay.”

A slow grin took over his features as he exclaimed, “ _brilliant_.” He pushed himself up and when he held out his hand this time she gingerly took it and he pulled them both to their feet. He placed his hands onto her shoulders as she looked at him, her eyes wide and wary but trusting. Pulling her further into him he wrapped his arms around her and placed his chin on top of her head. He didn’t need too but the warm feeling that blossomed in his chest when her hands came up to grip his shirt had him holding tighter. “Ready?”

“-yes,” she hesitated so he pulled back and looked down at her in question, “do I need to close my eyes?”

He chuckled, using a finger to tilt up her chin. “You can do, it won’t make much difference though.”

“O-kay.” She blinked.

He wrapped his hands back around her and tightened his grip. He couldn’t see if she closed her eyes from his position but as he pulled the shadows up around them; her little gasp suggested she hadn’t. He pushed them through the shadows and where he wanted them to go. The temperature shooting up as they arrived on the outskirts of the main city. It was never really thought that Hell was a city, but it was, a huge expansive massive city with divisions, sections, all stretching out for miles with his palace sitting at the center, but it was still a city. Ever expanding and growing as it changed, but a city nonetheless.

The ground was firm but rocky beneath the feet as he breathed in her scent and her hair tickled his nose. “We’re here,” he murmured. She hummed, grip still tight on his shirt, and he carefully pulled backwards to see that her eyes were now indeed closed. “You can open your eyes Chloe.”

It took a few seconds as she breathed, probably feeling a little ill from the unfamiliar travelling experience, but she eventually slowly opened her eyes. Her breath coming in little pants as she stared at him as she gathered the courage to look around her. Eyes widening as she took in their surroundings, and he grinned smugly as she muttered a flabbergasted, “ _wow_ ,” under her breath.

The outskirts of Hell was pretty much a desert; but as he’d left the palace the Morningstar had begun to fall in the sky and the light it cast reflected off the grains and sparkled. The soft glow from his star meant the grains were glinting in all different luminous colors around them as they stood on a rock in the middle. She turned around, eyes wide and mouth agape as she stared before she spun to face him. The light playing off her face as she beamed, “ _what_?”

He laughed softly, “I thought you may like it.”

“ _How_?” She turned around again, looking at the shimmering colors as they glittered in the fading light.

Gently placing his hands on her shoulders he turned her towards his star and pointed. “It sets when I’m not in the palace.” Basically unless he wasn’t home it was constant nighttime here, dreary, overly hot and humid. He’d plunged Hell into eternal night when he’d abandoned it – although the demons were not too bothered about the climate so he didn’t feel _that_ guilty about it.

She watched as it slowly set, a soft smile on her features. “It’s beautiful,” her voice whispery and the atmosphere tranquil as she stared.

“Well,” he pulled her with him as he sat down on the rock, legs stretched in front of him, “it’s only going to last a few minutes so better make the most of it.” She crossed her legs and leaned into him as he spoke. “Something you can tell your spawn about when you return.”

Her eyes were smiling as she looked at him briefly before turning back to the setting star. “Thank you,” she breathed, eyes wide as she watched, “it’s perfect.”

“Least I could do.” He murmured, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she leaned heavily into him. “After all, it’s my fault you’re here, stuck, with me.”

There was a beat of silence before she hummed, “I’m glad I’m with you.”

His grip tightened as he felt her body grow heavier as the warmth heated her tired bones and sleep took over as her head lolled onto his shoulder. He watched her, eyes glinting in the soft light, before smoothly standing up and scooping her into his arms. Her eyes closed and breathing soft and even as she relaxed. He took them both back to his bedroom and placed her under his covers, pulling her shoes off and wrapping her up. He stared at her softly sleeping form for a few seconds, wondering what on Earth he had done to deserve this pure untainted soul who put so much trust in him – he didn’t deserve her. He flicked the light off before quietly leaving the room, closing the door slowly behind him, to attend to matters he was deftly avoiding telling her about for fear they would taint her opinion of him so far they could never regain what they’d be sure to lose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This lil chap was added in and is a product of my pain and suffering from sunburn. Though there is no pain and suffering here - just basically pure gooey fluff to make myself feel better.
> 
> Still I like to think there's a little bit of beauty in everything if we look properly.
> 
> I hope you like my little addition to Hell and let me know what you thought!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a little time jump here - about eight weeks.

Chloe was bored. It had been nearly eight weeks at last count since she’d found herself trapped in Hell and time passed in such odd intervals that it was giving her headaches. She slept through a lot of it – despite Lucifer telling her that ‘technically she didn’t need sleep because she was dead’, she’d grated him for the reminder and he’d simply laughed at her, given her that same soft tilted quizzical look he’d been giving her a lot these days, and wandered off. To do, _whatever_ , she wasn’t thinking about it. She wasn’t stupid, she knew she was in Hell and she knew Lucifer was still - no matter how different he acted with her - the Devil… and when he vanished for hours, sometimes the odd day at a time, he was doing… _Devil_ things. She just feigned ignorance and soldiered on.

She spent the rest of her time alternating between snooping around Lucifer’s grand palace and reading, a lot. Sometimes days passed without her thinking about it, other days they dragged and dragged and _dragged_. Today was a dragging day. She’d spent hours in the library, curled up on one of the massive chairs reading one of the hundreds of books in Lucifer’s collection. Many were written in different languages and she’d taken to learning French out of boredom about a week ago. She now knew the basics, but not enough to read books easily, so she mostly stuck to reading English to save herself eye strain. The book she was reading now was 1984, she’d read it before in high school for a class but she had forgotten just how much she’d enjoyed it.

The door opening behind her had her head bolting upwards in surprise. She had spent most of her time, apart from Lucifer and the odd sighting of Maze, utterly alone in the palace so the sound of the door opening had her placing the book in her lap and looking over as what looked to be a teenage boy scuffled into the room. Lucifer had explained to her, late one evening, how to vaguely tell the difference between souls and demons. She hadn’t really had much practice, just the odd rare occasion when she’d crossed Lucifer’s path when he’d been taking to someone. He usually ended what he was talking about pretty quickly, focusing all his attention on her. She was usually pretty grateful. But souls were not supposed to be wandering around, so she knew this was a demon who’d stumbled into her hidey hole as she read in quiet.

Teenage looking boy was staring at her in shock. “Oh, Miss, I’m s-sorry.”

Pushing herself to her feet, she regarded the boy in front of her slowly. Lucifer had taken it upon himself to explain the hierarchy of demons. She hadn’t asked him but he claimed she needed to know. She now knew that the lower the demon was the less _deformed_ they were. Although when they were higher demons they could ‘glamour’ themselves so they looked human. He’d also shown her how to detect a glamour by the shift around the air as they walked. He’d explained to her that he didn’t have a ‘glamour’ as both forms he took, as well as others he’d long abandoned, were not ‘glamours’ but belonged to him. He was an angel, albeit a fallen one, but not a demon and therefore the rules for him worked differently. Everything he told her she took in, using it to expand her understanding of his world. The demon now standing in front of her, looking about sixteen, did not have a glamour and was therefore a pretty lower demon considering the spectrum of things.

Obviously he had taken her silence as contempt as he took a step backwards, “I’ll go, I just came to-” he shook his head as he caught himself, “never mind. I’ll leave you be Miss.”

Taking a small step forwards, she inwardly winced as he flinched. “ _No_ ,” he abruptly halted his step looked at her curiously at her sudden demand. Her eyes widened, “shit, no, that wasn’t a command.” She swallowed, keeping a distance away, “just, you can stay.” She waved in general at the library as she looked at the teenage looking demon.

She’d forgotten her word carried as much weight as Lucifer’s. After the little stunt he’d played on his balcony those nearly eight weeks ago they had quickly discovered that it meant his demons obeyed her every word. He’d found it hilarious when Maze had gone to fetch her a glass of water after she’d moaned about it being too hot; she hadn’t and had glared at him as he laughed. She’d grumbled, saying it was stupid and she was going to bed, again, and that he could keep her water. Her days were spent always watching what she said, but she hadn’t seen anyone but Lucifer in a while and it was easy to forget.

“Miss?” Said demon was still staring at her.

She tried to send him a reassuring smile. “What’s your name?”

“Lukas, Miss.”

“My name is Chloe.” She took a few careful steps forwards, regarding him as he took a small step away from her. “Please stop calling me _Miss_.”

He nodded immediately, “yes Miss-” his eyes widened and he stammered, “s-sorry, Chloe.”

She ignored his stammer. Being Lucifer’s equal had apparently made the lesser demons afraid of her, despite the fact she’d never done _anything_ for them to be afraid. Although it made her stomach sink at the thought of this demon, Lukas, feeling obliged to stay because she’d asked. “Well Lukas, what was it you came here to do?”

“Find a book for my Lord.” He edged forwards towards the rows of meticulously alphabetically organized books. Chloe raised an eyebrow and he elaborated, voice – thankfully - sounding a little less terrified. “He wants a book on angel translations.”

Well that didn’t mean much to her but she shrugged a shoulder and stepped back, giving him access to the room. “You better go fetch it then.” She watched him scurry past her and towards where she guessed the book he was looking for was kept and rolled her eyes but smiled sympathetically at the hurried demon. “Lucifer isn’t exactly known for his patience, is he?”

He shook his head, “no Ma’am.” At the unintentional narrow of her eyes he quickly corrected himself, “Chloe.”

She tried for a reassuring smile as she followed him as he vanished amongst the stacks. Searching the aisles. His gaze getting more flustered as he searched. “Is everything okay Lukas?” She leaned against the wall as she watched him, her heart sinking for the demon and vowing to have a stern word with Lucifer about the treatment of his lower demons later.

“I can’t find it.” He looked at her, horrified, “I can’t _find_ it.”

“Hey,” she held her hands up to placate him, “hey, it’s _okay_.” He watched her warily as she approached. He looked terrified at the thought of returning to Lucifer without finding whatever he wanted and she took pity on him. “What does it look like and I’ll help you look for it,” she attempted a smile. “Although you’ll have to explain to me what I’m looking for; I don’t really have a clue.”

“Old,” she raised an eyebrow at that and he blinked owlishly at her, “it’s brown and leather and has angel symbols on the binding.” He looked around him, before frantically his eyes landed back on her. “I don’t get it, it should be in _this_ aisle.”

Chloe frowned, remembering her quiet evening in here with Lucifer the other evening and what he’d been reading sounded suspiciously like the book Lukas was describing. Back tracking to the center of the library, she called for the demon to follow her, hearing his steps as he stumbled behind her as she found the book exactly where Lucifer had left it the other day. It was heavy and worn in her hands, but she turned and handed it to him.

He looked at it for a second before his shoulders seemed to drop in defeat and he looked up at her. “Thank you Ma’am.” He took the book from her.

She ignored the title this time, exhausted from correcting, and softly nodded at him. “You’re welcome, Lukas.”

A tiny smile flitted over his features as he clutched the book to his chest, eyes landing on the chair she’d been sat in and the book laying open on the table. His eyes flitted to hers and away again; voice quiet as he spoke, “what are you reading?”

She dropped her hands by her sides, her eyes wandering to the discarded book and back to the demon in front of her. “1984.”

Lukas was eyeing the book with intrigue and she briefly wandered how much ‘free’ time Lucifer’s demons got to do things like read. “George Orwell?”

She nodded, a slight smile lighting up her face. “You’ve heard of it?” He nodded and she plopped herself on the edge of the table, fingering the book and crossing her legs, “it’s a dystopian novel about the government controlling history and its subjects freewill.” When describing it she briefly wondered why Lucifer even had it in his library, surely it was a dangerous book to keep around? Then again Big Brother did win in the end she supposed.

“Two unlikely lovers who betray each other.” Lukas was staring at the book and Chloe swallowed, hard, and nodded. Seeming to notice her discomfort Lukas looked at her with interest as he looked at the small pile of books on the table next to the fireplace, “do you do a lot of reading?”

“I have a lot of time on my hands,” she tilted her head to look at the demon, regarding him carefully as he uneasily watched her, “reading and exploring is all I really do.”

He hesitated, shifting from one foot to another, “that sounds…” he trailed off, thinking, “relaxing.”

She chuckled at the word Lukas had chosen to use, pretty sure he wanted to say ‘boring’. “Hopefully I’ll be going home soon.”

He looked at her, eyes a little wide. “You’re going back to Earth?” She was pretty sure she was imagining the slightly crestfallen lilt in his voice.

She nodded, “I have a daughter and a life to get back too.” He was watching her with what Chloe would have guessed was wistfulness and she wondered if this demon was happy with the life created for him. Shaking off the thoughts she looked at the book still clutched to his chest. “Well, you better be getting back with that.”

Nodding hurriedly, he shifted on his feet, eyes flicking towards the door. “I-”

“Is there a problem in here?” Maze had waltzed into the library, eyes first landing on Lukas and then on her, where they narrowed. “Oh, _hello_ Chloe.”

“Hello Mazikeen.” She nodded, despite knowing she could call the demon what she wanted; she respected Maze’s preference for her calling her by her full name. She eyed the female demon carefully before uncrossing her legs and gesturing towards the male demon who seemed to have shrunken into himself as he stared at Maze. “No problem. My fault, I seized Lukas’s company.”

“Ah, well, he’s needed.” Maze moved a few steps forwards.

Chloe rolled her eyes, and clasped her hands in her lap. “By all means, I’m sorry to have kept him.” Her conversation with Maze was always strained, despite Lucifer’s right hand having a preference for her daughter the female demon still very much distained Chloe. “He’s all yours.”

Ignoring her, she had turned to the scared looking male demon. “Is this is what was taking you so long?” Maze demanded of Lukas. “You shouldn’t be distracted so easily.”

“I- I couldn’t find the book.” He held it up to show her. “It wasn’t where Sir said it would be.”

Maze had her eyes narrowed into slits as she glared at the lesser demon. “Then you decided to hang around for,” she glanced at Chloe, “what? A _chat_?” When Lukas went to open his mouth the female demon interrupted, “don’t you _dare_ make up excuses. We are working; there is no time to be chatting.”

Dropping his head, his eyes on the floor Lukas nodded. “Yes, I know, I’m sorry.”

“Good, well then-”

Chloe smoothly stood up as Maze went to leave the room, Lukas on her tail, “hold _on_.” Maze froze and turned to look at her, “it’s not his fault he didn’t return like a good little errand boy. I distracted him.”

Raising an eyebrow, Chloe mirrored the female demon’s expression, “- _and_? He should know better.”

She waved her hands in Lukas’s direction. “Just don’t go punishing him when he’s done _nothing_ wrong.”

Maze took a few step forwards, growling. “He’s _Lucifer’s_ demon, not _yours_ , you don’t have a say in what happens to him.”

Chloe rolled her eyes at that; “perhaps, but there’s need to punish someone when they’ve done nothing wrong. Even Lucifer knows _that_ at least.”

“Are you questioning-”

Waving a hand she interrupted, “I’m not _doing_ anything, you’re throwing the hissy fit,” Chloe clasped her hands behind her back and raised an eyebrow. Knowing provoking the female demon probably wasn’t a good idea, but Lukas shouldn’t be blamed for something that was her fault. She really didn’t feel like getting into a ‘bitch’ fight with Lucifer’s right hand but she was not having poor Lukas punished.

“You are the most _insufferable_ -” Maze had started for her.

Chloe unlocked her hands from her back and held them up to ward off the angry demons advance. “Mazikeen-” she warned.

“Leave her alone.”

Both Chloe and Maze’s heads whipped around to the small voice in the doorway where Lukas was still clutching his book and staring at Maze. “What did you say?” Maze demanded.

Lukas set his chin, for the first time not looking as feeble as he looked Maze in the eyes. “Leave Chloe alone.”

Chloe felt a little affectionate surge for the male demon who had taken it upon himself to stand up for her. “Lukas,” she smiled at him reassuringly, “it’s fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“No, he should be worrying about himself.” Maze had turned and stalked back towards the insubordinate demon who was backing away and further into the room. She stepped up and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and growled in his face. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Lukas appeared to get strength from nowhere and managed to get himself free, stepping backwards and dropping the book. Chloe watched it fall to the floor, wincing at the muffled sound the ancient book made as it slumped. He shifted, “you shouldn’t talk to her that way.”

“You have no business interjecting yourself into our business.” Maze stalked Lukas who had apparently placed himself between Chloe and Maze.

Chloe placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Lukas. You can stop.” She squeezed as he looked at her uncertain. Although she had to quickly step out the way when Maze decided it was a good idea to launch herself at Lukas. The both of them went crashing into the table behind her and Chloe watched it buckle and break under their weight. She glowered at them, this was _absurd_. They were in a library; a place to read and relax, not for demons to be scrapping. “Stop,” when they both ignored her and continued to struggle she raised her voice and glared at them. “Stop. _Now_.” Immediately the both of them obeyed, their bodies freezing as they stilled.

Chloe was trying to think of something she could say when a voice sounded from behind her. “I heard an intriguing commotion,” Chloe turned around to find Lucifer leaning against the doorjamb, his amused eyes landing on her, “trust you to be in the middle of it.”

She rolled her eyes, lifting her head to the ceiling in exasperation before meeting his gaze. “I swear was only trying to read,” she sighed, and added, “peacefully.”

Stepping into the room he chuckled. “You draw trouble almost as much as I do.” He turned his gaze and eyed his broken table. “What’s going on in here?”

Mazikeen had untangled herself and gracefully stood up, brushing herself off. “Chloe got herself a bodyguard.” She looked in disgust at Lukas who was scrambling to pick himself up, Chloe took pity on him and went to help him stand.

He looked at her as she wrapped a hand around his elbow and helped pull him up. “Thank you,” he whispered and she sent him an encouraging smile as he looked worriedly at Lucifer. “Sir.”

“Lukas.” Lucifer regarded him before looking at Chloe and raising an eyebrow.

She shrugged a shoulder, placing a hand on Lukas’s shoulder for support. “He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“He was _insubordinate_.” Maze hissed.

Rolling her eyes, Chloe folded her arms and sighed. “He was only protecting me-” she shot a side glance at the demon next to her, “-not that he _needed_ too.” She emphasized.

Lukas had the decency to look a little sheepish despite still looking terrified. “I’m sorry,” he hung his head.

Wandering a little closer, Lucifer peered at her and raised his eyebrows. “Why do you need protecting?”

Chloe fixed him with a disbelieving stare, “your demon bodyguard has anger management problems.” Before shifting her glare to the female demon.

Pausing, “Maze?” Lucifer looked at his right hand.

Said demon raised a hand slightly. “I may have lost my temper,” she smirked, pinching her fingers together, “a _little_.” She rolled her eyes, “it’s not as though I can _do_ anything though, _is it_?” She gestured at Chloe.

“Yes, not really the point though Maze,” Lucifer sighed. “I’ll deal with you in a minute.” He turned to Chloe and Lukas, his eyes landing on the latter. “Thank you for _trying_ to protect Chloe,” he smirked, “although she _can_ take care of herself… so you know for next time.”

Lukas hesitated, looking unsure. “Next time, Sir?” 

“Well-” Lucifer drawled, looking amused, “if you want to play bodyguard you may as well be _made_ a bodyguard.” He paused looking at Chloe pointedly. “That is of course if you’ll let him.”

She waved him off, figuring if Lukas got a promotion – pretty sure that was what was happening here – he’d be a lot more confident in himself. Not that she needed a bodyguard being stuck in this stupid palace day in and day out. “Sure, fine, although I _can_ protect myself.” He’d be company, she supposed.

“Oh I know,” he grinned, before clapping his hands loudly. “ _Brilliant_. Every day’s an adventure with the detective. You’ll have a wonderful time!” He stopped, a shifty look entering his eyes as a conspiring grin played at the corner of his lips.

Chloe looked at him suspiciously and he grinned at her before refocusing on Lukas. “Now, if you’re going to be by her side you better learn how to fight-” He raised a pointed eyebrow at Maze, who looked horrified. “Maze, if you’d be ever so _kind_.”

“But-”

“Ah,” he tutted, “go ahead and be a good little demon and teach Lukas here how to fight. And _well_ ,” he paused, before grinning deviously, “please.” 

“Fine.” Maze tugged on her top and shot a disdainful glance towards where Lukas was hovering uncertainly. “Come on then.” She turned on her heel and marched from the room, Lukas hesitating before following.

“Go easy on him!” Lucifer chortled after them as they vanished, turning his gaze back to her. “Now-”

She rolled her eyes heavenward. “Don’t start. I _really_ was only trying to read.”  She collapsed onto the armchair she was originally curled up in and stared at her book now on floor along with whatever he wanted the angel translation book for. “The book you wanted is over there,” she pointed at it as she leaned to pick up her own.

“You and Lukas seemed to get on well,” he grinned, plopping himself down in the seat opposite her, book in hand, and smoothly raising an eyebrow. “He’s always been a little on the shy side. Trust you to bring out the demon in him.”

Chloe snorted. “He couldn’t find the stupid book, I helped him find it.”

“Well, you certainly helped him come out his shell.” Lucifer chuckled and Chloe rolled her eyes realizing he sounded like an overly enthused parent. He eyed her, peering at the title of the book she was reading and a small smile curling his lips before he asked. “You okay?”

She waved him off, “I’m fine,” and closed her eyes briefly before looking at him, “how’s your day?”

He raised his eyebrows shooting her a pointed look. “Tedious until this little debacle.”

“So was mine.” She muttered, staring at the book in her hands before looking at him as he stood up, she shot him a questioning glance and inwardly sighed; “back to work?”

He sent her an apologetic smile and shrugged a shoulder, “duty calls.” She nodded as he brushed off his trousers and absently pulled on his cuffs, “I’ll see you tonight Detective.”

She smiled at him, slightly pleased that she’d get to spend the evening with him as he had been busy the past few nights. “See you tonight.”

He shot her a quick smile before walking out the room, leaving her to her thoughts once more. “Oh-” she jumped as he popped his head around the corner. “I’ll send someone to clean up the _mess_ ,” he smirked. Rolling her eyes she grabbed a broken table leg and threw it at him. It hit the doorjamb as he ducked out the way, and she could hear him laughing, the sound echoing, as he waltzed away.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, thankfully. She’d left the library before the table was cleaned up and replaced, going for another wander around the vast halls. She could lose hours mooching around Lucifer’s hallways; she’d always loved old houses as a kid and the inner child in her loved finding the numerous empty long forgotten bedrooms. She wondered who had stayed in them, once upon a time, and carefully shut the doors as she continued her snooping.

She hadn’t really done much exploring in the older parts of the palace before. Feeling a little unsettled at the darker long forgotten areas, but she had run out of places to explore and had therefore steeled herself and ventured into the darkness. Lucifer had told her she was allowed anywhere in Hell, asserting that she could go _outside_ if she wanted, but she hadn’t wanted to step outside without him and the thoughts of bumping into Lilith or some other probably not very respectful higher demon were not very appealing. Plus there was a good chance if she braved stepping outside she’d end up going to find out how Malcolm was faring – and she knew _that_ wasn’t a good idea. So she figured wandering the forgotten halls wasn’t a problem. Much safer.

She had just found some old fashioned looking bathroom, the massive round top bath standing proudly in the middle of the dark room, when a clock chimed from somewhere down the hall. She jumped, her heart leaping into her throat and she covered her chest for a second to settle herself before she followed the sound.

She discovered a huge grandfather clock down another two hallways, standing tall at the end and dominating the hallway. As she approached her eyes widened as she realized this was the first clock she’d actually seen in the whole of Hell. Lucifer didn’t seem to be too bothered about time and there were no wall clocks, he didn’t wear a watch, and not even the kitchen had a clock on the oven. The clock was still, silent, when she approached and she realized that it hadn’t been moving for a while as dust was collected on the weights and pendulum.

She ran a finger up the side, and she frowned as she realized this was the only thing she’d found covered with the fine fluffy substance. All the abandoned rooms had been empty; a sense of forgotten loneliness hung in the rooms and the air had been stale, but there wasn’t a speck of dust. But, she stared at her finger, there was definitely dust on this clock. She rubbed it between her fingers and looked up at the clock in confusion, she’d definitely heard it chime so why was it so silent and still?

A sense of foreboding filled her as she stared at the silent looming clock and back at her fingers peering at the definitely still pendulum and debating whether she should pull it open – just to check.

“Chloe?” She whipped around to see Lucifer approach her, slowly, his eyes carefully regarding her and the clock behind her. “What are you doing?”

“I found a clock.” She jabbed a thumb behind her, before frowning looking at him curiously. “Wait, why are you here?”

His smile was strained as he came to a stop beside her, also staring at the clock. “Something felt _off_ so I came to find you.”

“It chimed,” she muttered; it seemed significant.

“What?” His head abruptly snapped to look at her, “what did you say?”

She looked at him, a little confused. “I said it chimed.”

Shaking his head, he stared at her before whispering; “no it didn’t.”

She frowned, looking at him and nodding. “Yeah, it did. I followed the sound.”

“It hasn’t made a sound, since-” he cut himself off, staring at the looming structure, “-I had it built.” She looked at him sensing there was something else, so she placed a hand on his upper arm in support as she turned to face him. He glanced down at her before looking at the clock and swallowing, the sound almost audible. “That’s the time I fell.”

Her gasp definitely was audible and she turned to look at the time the clock was apparently ever frozen on. It read 03:26. “What?” She whispered, staring at it. “Why would you keep that?”

He shook his head, smiling brokenly at her. “As a reminder.”

“Reminder of what?” She shook her head and glared at him. “You’re torturing yourself.”

“Well, this _is_ Hell, Chloe.” He sighed, looking at the clock and she internally rolled her eyes at him. “Are you positive it was this you heard?”

“I heard a clock chime,” she mirrored his position, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes, “do you have any other grandfather clocks around here?”

He shook his head. “No.”

Dubiously, she looked at him and then back at the clock. “Well, then, I definitely heard it chime.” They both stared at the silent intimidating structure, and she watched him from the corner of her eyes as he rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. The air felt heavy as she flicked her gaze between them both before awkwardly clearing her throat, “well, it appears I was ima-” she was cut off as the second hand on the clock ticked, once, and she stared aghast at it as there was a few beats and it ticked again. There was no doubt about it, it was _moving-_

“Chloe-” Lucifer’s voice was strained, teeth gritted as he watched the clock, “I-” he hissed in pain, doubling over and she watched in horror immediately moving to help him. He threw up a hand and she stopped in her place. “Don’t, just-” He gritted his teeth and flinched, a small sound of pain wheezing from his lips.

Her heart was beating triple speed, she was pretty sure if she wasn’t already technically _dead_ she would be having a heart attack, as she watched him cripple over. She felt powerless and wondered if she should raise the alarm – somehow, her eyes wide as her breath halted in her throat. “Lucifer-?”

“Down,” he muttered, voice strained, and she looked at him in confusion for a second before his pain eyes met hers and he repeated himself, “get _down_.” He shook his head as she took a step forwards and he shot up, stumbling backwards a few steps before gasping in pain, urgently fixing his expression on her. “Chloe, _hit the deck,_ now!” Understanding that demand, she dropped just in time to close her eyes against an overwhelming bright light that seemed to explode out of him.

She remained where she was, head down and sheltered by her arms, until the light and heat from it died down to normal levels. Peeking her head up, her eyes widened as they landed on Lucifer kneeled on the floor, panting, breaths heaving. His hair damp and sticking to his forehead. Her breath halted in her throat and she scurried upwards as her eyes landed on the… the _wings_ , that were now spanning from his back. They were a dark satin black, the exact opposite of the fake white ones she had seen a few months ago and these _shimmered_ in the dim light as they flexed. If she had thought the previous ones were beautiful; then these were otherworldly. “Lucifer?” She questioned, pulling herself onto her knees.

There was a few beats of silence as he breathed heavily, before his eyes slowly raised to hers and he swallowed, his body beginning to shake as his eyes bored into hers and his voice broke. “ _Chloe_.”

Taking that as permission she scrambled to his side, dropping in front of him and placing her hands around his face. “It’s okay,” she mumbled, pressing her forehead against his as he shook slightly, “ _shh_ , it’s okay.” She didn’t really know whether it was, but as the shakes wracked his body she knew she had to, to _comfort_ him. He leaned heavily against her and she let him, stroking the back of his head as he quivered.

She jumped a little as his wings moved, wrapping themselves around her as she held him. She tried to ignore how soft they felt as she shifted slightly and he mumbled an apology as his arms wrapped around her middle as one of her hands softly ran through his hair and the other rubbed smoothing circles onto his back.

They remained like that for longer than she could comprehend. Her knees were beginning to ache and her shoulders were stiffening when Mazikeen found them; wavering on the edge of their little bubble as she watched a little unsure. Chloe lifted her eyes slowly to acknowledge her. She gradually slowed her hand as it played with the strands of his hair and making sure to keep her voice soft as she murmured, “Luce?” Barely registering it was the first time she had called him anything but his full name.

It took a second but he lifted his head from her, his eyes dry but slightly wider than usual. He smiled a little weakly at her and sat back on his haunches, running his hands down his face as he registered the presence of his demon. “I’m okay.” He flexed his wings a little and they brushed against Chloe as he moved. Pulling them away from her she felt a little cold and lost as the warmth left her, he smiled gently in understanding as he stretched them out like he was stretching an overused limb. He hissed slightly but as he shook them, the odd feather flying off, and his eyes landed on Chloe as she shifted herself wincing as her legs protested the movement. It seemed the both of them were tense as they moved and she smiled at him reassuringly as she watched his wings flex, “they’re beautiful Lucifer.”

The smile he shot her was glorious, before his eyes fell serious as he regarded her. “I thought you weren’t going to get down in time for a minute.”

Pulling a face, “I nearly didn’t,” she acknowledged. She tried to stand up but found her legs were still pretty dead and she wobbled, Lucifer grabbed a hold of her and she laughed at him as he staggered as well. “Looks like we’re both pretty useless.”

He looked at her, “it isn’t funny,” he murmured before turning her as they used each other to stand up, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” She brushed her hand against Lucifer’s shoulder. “It’s only a little stiffness. I’ll be fine in a sec.”

He brushed her hair from her face, and cupped her chin as his eyes bored into hers. “You know for what.”

She stared at him, “not a problem,” she affirmed, digging her fingers into his shoulders to cement her point.

“If you two are done with your little-” Mazikeen pulled a face of contempt as she looked at them, “angelic moment,” her gaze shifted to Lucifer. “Lucifer, you need to rest.”

Rolling her eyes at Maze’s dig, she looked back at Lucifer who was still watching her warily as though she may bolt. “She’s right, and I’m not going anywhere.” She murmured, not as though there were many places to go; she wouldn’t leave his side as long as he needed her. “I promise.”

He swallowed, shifting his gaze to his demon and nodded. “Okay, I do feel a little tired,” he made to move and stumbled.

Chloe caught him, her legs protesting at the movement, but she managed to prop him up.

“I can do it.” He gritted his teeth and Chloe was reminded of the time she shot him in the leg, and winced at the memory. “Just,” he cleared his throat and pushed himself upwards, wobbling a little but standing alone, “there,” he grinned at them.

“Can you hide those?” Maze pointed at his wings that were still fluttering and flexing. “Unless you want to explain to everyone why you’ve got them.”

“I don’t even know why I’ve got them,” he glowered, but concentrated and Chloe watched the air shimmer as they folded up and disappeared. She look at him as he grinned smugly at her, “I don’t know where they go either.”

His blink was a little too long and Chloe shook her head in exasperation. “Right, _bed_.”

Raising and wiggling his eyebrows as his voice raised several octaves he tried for a lecherous smile but the tiredness that lined his face made it fall flat. “Ooh Detective. Really?”

She rolled her eyes. “To _sleep,_ ” she stressed.

He pouted, but fell into step beside her as she walked them back towards his bedroom. “You’re no fun.” He moped, but she knew he was grateful as she linked her elbow with his as they took a route out of the way from the main lobby; Maze trailing behind them as Chloe used her limited memory of exploration to guide them in the right direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After reading so many fics with Luci getting his wings back I was debating taking this out - but then I thought it is highly unlikely I'll probably write the whole 'wings return' scene in the future so I thought I'd leave it in. This is my take. :)
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Also, Lukas will be making a reappearance. I kinda like the lil demon - I'm all maternal over a made up character...


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of this chap gets a tad more into the adult rated territory but nothing specific. I'm still debating with myself on whether I'm going to be including smut in this story or not - perhaps I'll write a small epilogue so you have the option of reading.

When Lucifer woke up, although time wasn’t something easily guessable in Hell, he figured to be somewhere in the middle of the night. Well it would have been on Earth, if the sleeping figure curled on the bed with him was anything to go by. She had one hand tucked under the pillow beneath her head and the other was thrown back over her body as she softly breathed.

The pain in his limbs had gone and he felt a lot lighter as he watched her sleeping; one of his wings that he had obviously curled over her in the night acting as a sort of shield between her and the open air. He cringed at himself as he remembered sleepily using it to wrap around her and pull her back to the bed when she’d tried to sit down in the chair opposite him. She’d put up a little protest but eventually given in and climbed onto the bed with him. He tried to remember covering her with it during the night, but came up blank, and figured he was probably too out of it to comprehend what he was doing. Still she seemed comfortable as her breaths ruffled the black feathers as she puffed air into the night, and an involuntary slow grin spread across his face as he watched her expression scrunch up as she rolled over towards him slightly.

He was lying on his front, his other wing hanging off the edge of the bed. Turning his head he stretched it outwards before curling it upwards, watching the feathers glimmer in the light. Muscle memory. He automatically remembered how to move them and briefly wondered if flying would be this easy, then promptly tucked the thought away for later as his Detective began to stir.

He turned back to her, frowning as he tried to figure out _why_ he’d been given them back now. He hadn’t asked for them - not that he wasn’t grateful. Strangely he’d thought he’d detest having them back but they felt, comforting, reassuring. It would make getting Chloe out of Hell a lot easier. Perhaps that was why? Chloe didn’t belong in Hell, maybe his father was telling him it was time to get her out of here. Maybe they were for the up and coming battle with his mother. He wasn’t sure, but he knew he sure preferred them this way than the pure holy white they had been before – those hadn’t suited his image at all. And besides, Chloe seemed to like them. He watched as she shifted again; eyes fluttering and opening as she smiled at him sleepily.

“Hi,” she breathed, burying herself beneath his wing further, her voice a tired slur as she spoke, “what times’ it?”

“Somewhere in the middle of the night,” he frowned, remembering the now ticking grandfather clock that stood in the forgotten hallways of his palace, “I think.”

She hummed, reclosing her eyes and muttering, “time here is weird,” and instantly fell back asleep.

Chuckling as he watched her breathing re-settle, he gently pulled his wing from her and refolded them out of the way, and unnoticeable. She grumbled a little, shivering in her sleep, so he pulled the duvet that had been turned down earlier in the evening over her as he rolled off the bed to his feet. Tucking it around her before stepping back and stretching; wincing as his bones cracked.

He wanted to hit the library, scour his way through the books on angels and perhaps try send a message to his father to understand further what was happening. Although he doubted he’d get a verbal reply. Although Chloe technically didn’t need the sleep, she seemed to enjoy doing the human habits she was used too, and he hadn’t discouraged her considering his plan was to get her back to Earth and into her body as soon as possible. He quickly scribbled a note for her as an afterthought to let her know where he’d gone and headed for the bathroom. He needed a shower, and a drink, before he spent the rest of the night piling through books looking for answers.

Hours passed without him really thinking about it, and he had read through at least three books to no avail, and was just nearly past the point of frustration when he heard padded feet heading towards the library. The recognizable footsteps had him looking up as Chloe appeared in the doorway, rubbing her eyes a little before wandering into the room. He’d lit the fireplace earlier, and the room was quietly crackling as the logs burned and she observed the fire silently, the flames dancing in her eyes for a second, before wading her way through the books he’d left on the floor until she plopped down in the arm chair in front of him.

She watched him silently for a few minutes as he went back to his reading. He glanced at her as she tucked a wayward stand of her behind her ear and muttering, her voice soft, “you look tired.”

He cracked a small smile, “you always know the most wonderful things to say Detective.”

She watched him pick up his glass and the decanter, shaking her head as he offered her a glass. “Did you get any sleep?”

Raising an eyebrow, he appraised her quietly and tilted his head, “did you?”

A small smile appeared on her lips, “touché,” she sighed, sinking back into the chair and reclosing her eyes for a second before those sometimes too alert eyes zeroed in on him. “Do you even need sleep?”

He shook his head. “On Earth I needed a little, down here I don’t need any,” he paused, shooting her a pointed look and reminded her, “just as you don’t, but sometimes it’s nice to sleep away time.”

Nodding, she seemed to agree with him, before settling back in her seat and eyeing the pile of books he had on the table and those scattered on the floor. “What’re you doing?”

“Looking for answers.”

“To?” She frowned; looking at him in confusion.

He jabbed a thumb backwards over his shoulders to gesture the wings which were currently still invisible. He couldn’t even feel them, but he knew they were there as he could feel the ghost of their presence as he breathed. “Those.”

Her blue eyes were glittering in the light as she regarded him curiously. “Do they need answering?”

Nodding, he sighed and placed his book in his lap, “I need to know why my dad decided to grace me with their presence,” he arched an eyebrow, “and why _now_.”

She sighed, gesturing at the books, “and the answers can be found on pages?” She looked at him knowingly, understanding the frustration he was feeling without him needing to voice it.

He shrugged a shoulder. “It can’t hurt to try.”

An awareness filled her eyes and she nodded gently, “yeah,” and he smiled at her in response.

They lapsed back into silence after that, and Chloe took a minute to go find a book that interested her before curling back into her chair, legs tucked underneath her as she read. He watched her for a few minutes as she turned the pages, bottom lip tucked between her teeth as her eyes took in the words, before re-picking up his reading material and went back to the tedious job of finding answers. The calm that settled over them lasted about an hour, before Lucifer began to get restless as the books gave him yet still no answers and he was fed up of the constant _nothingness_ as he monotonously turned the pages. Page after page of the same thing, nothing, and it was getting ridiculous-

“I’m bored,” Chloe’s voiced had him looking up. She had placed the book in her lap and her head was tilted back against the chair, “like _really_ bored.

“So am I,” he muttered under his breath as her head lolled to the side and her eyes landed on him. “Wait why are _you_ bored?” He frowned, she usually enjoyed reading and she’d always been amazingly patient and proficient at just sitting around and doing _nothing_ – his thoughts flashed back to the endless boring stakeouts and hours of just waiting around for their perp to make their entrance.

She shrugged a shoulder, “I don’t know, I just am.” She sighed deeply, moving her head up with visible effort to stare into the fire and glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, “why are you bored?”

He waved the book at her in answer and her eyes landed on it; nose scrunching up in irritation as she looked at it. That wasn’t normal, she had no reason to be annoyed at a book she couldn’t even read.  He frowned for a second as his thoughts fired. “Chloe?” She hummed as she looked at him, “tell me what you’re feeling.” She looked at him in mock irritation, raising an eyebrow and he refrained himself from rolling his eyes. “I mean right now, not just boredom, what else?” He shifted forwards in his seat curiously, as he placed the book down on his new coffee table. “Well?”

Her face screwed up in thought and she tugged a hand through her hair. “I don’t know.” She looked at him, “irritation? Impatience?” She pulled a face as her eyes narrowed. “I don’t know why though.”

“I-” he pushed himself to the edge of his seat, locking his hands together over his knees so his hands hung in the middle between his open legs, she tracked the movement. “I think your emulating my emotions.”

She looked taken aback for a second, “I’m sorry, _what_?”

He shrugged a shoulder, “that’s what _I’m_ feeling.”

“- _and_?” She looked at him strangely.

He waved a hand and marveled at the new discovery, quietly questioning why it had started now. Did it have something to do with his returned wings? Some power he didn’t know about? Her? “I wonder if it works both ways.” He tilted his head at her quizzically.

Rolling her eyes, she shoved herself back in her seat and folded her arms. “Well I’m not feeling any urge to test out some stupid theory if that’s what you’re thinking.”

He laughed softly before shaking his head, “no.” Looking at her he pulled his brows together, “think of something.”

“I’m always thinking,” she grumbled.

“No, I mean something that gives you a really strong emotion,” she regarded him slowly, eyes narrowed suspiciously, “please?” He grinned. “For me?”

Her eyes rose skyward and she sighed. “ _Fine_.” She closed her eyes and concentrated, her lips puckering as she focused. It took a minute but he began to feel something that definitely wasn’t _his_ emotion. A slow bubbling feeling that grew in strength, one he wasn’t familiar with but it felt desperate as it increased in strength and painful yearning… _Longing_. He winced, looking at his Detective as her lips turned downwards and cleared his throat to snap her out of it. Her eyes opened in shock and she frowned at him, “did you feel anything?”

He nodded, eyes softening as he looked at her. “Chloe, I’ll get you home soon, I promise.”

She winced, pulling herself away a little and breathed in deeply through her nose and out through her mouth as she got her emotions under control and shot him a small smile, “I know.” 

They lapsed back into silence for a second as Chloe moped silently to herself, staring at the fire, and Lucifer pondered an idea in his head wondering if he should play with it or just ignore it. Regarding his solemn looking Detective he decided to roll with it – he’d never been one for planning ahead, jump right in and run with it had always been his motto, and besides if figured it got too far he could always pull back.

He looked at her side profile, eyes falling on the way her hair draped over her shoulders and how her lips pouted as she pointedly ignored him. He spent a few minutes silently watching her, eyes travelling over her body and felt his heart rate begin to pick up as he thought about rubbing his thumb over her lips, the way her eyes would widen and pupils dilate as she watched him…

“Lucifer,” she had turned to look at him, “what are you doing?”

He grunted, clearing his throat and fixed his eyes on her mouth and stared at her. He’d slip his hands behind her head, tilting her head upwards as he’d lean in, slowly because Chloe deserved to be treasured – she wasn’t some conquest and she needed to be admired –

“Stop it,” Chloe’s voice had dropped, was slightly husky as she watched him and swallowed, “Lucifer-”

He met her eyes, fixing his gaze on hers and he thought about pulling her into him. He’d try to take it slow, but he knew she’d buckle into him as she gave in, and what started as slow exploration would blossom into passion as she responded… he felt the beginnings of heat surge through his body and his member shifted -

“ _Please_.”

\----

Her breath hitched as he stared at her, the intensity in his eyes igniting a flame and heat curled low in her belly as he shifted in his position. “ _Please.”_ What was he playing at? This was not the time, but still her stomach squeezed as he pushed himself upwards a little, eyes falling back to her lips his own opening slightly as he stared.

Crossing her legs, she tried to ignore the – _feelings_ – that were awakening in her as he concentrated on whatever he was doing to make him feel like this.  “ _Lucifer_ -” she warned him again, trying to find her focus as he pushed wave after wave of lust at her, “I can’t-”

“Come on Detective,” he murmured, voice dipped and smooth like honey. She swallowed, palms clammy as he pushed himself off his seat and stalked towards her.

She scrambled upwards and away from him, “what are you _doing_?” Her breath was coming in short little pants as he caged her in his arms and crowded her against the back wall, eyes boring into hers as he lowered his head between her neck and shoulder. She shuddered, feeling his breath waft over her shoulder as he breathed evenly onto her skin. 

She remained perfectly still, forcing herself not to react, as he blew gently on her ear. The little goosebumps that rose were _not_ her fault, she reminded herself. He dropped his head against her shoulder, lips pressing against the skin as he murmured, “Chloe, play with me.”

Shaking her head, she gritted her teeth as his words brushed his lips against the bare skin just between her neck and shoulder. Breath catching in her throat as he was so close to the sensitive spot on her neck. She swallowed, trying to pull her head back to create a little distance between them. He seemed to sense it, as his head immediately moved further into her neck and he pressed a small kiss on the skin and her knees buckled, eyes rolling partially back into her head. She pushed lightly at his shoulder, still retaining some sense of sanity as she panted, “s-stop it. Lucifer.”

He raised his head to look at her, eyes dilated and Chloe almost, _almost,_ gave in. She wanted too, God did she, but not here and not in Hell. She couldn’t. She wasn’t even properly _divorced_ yet and although she was separated she was technically still married. Seeming to sense her urgency he pulled back, smiling softly at her. “Okay Detective.”

She breathed a slight sigh of relief, fixing him with a frustrated glower as she refrained from sinking to the floor. “Thank you.” Her sense of relief quickly vanished though, as the lust dialed back and just about vanished, and anger rushed through her taking its place as she came to her senses and she pushed him further away from her, harshly. “What on Earth are you _playing_ at?” She growled out between her teeth. “Huh, Lucifer? What _was_ that?!”

He narrowed his eyes, feeling her anger and responding in kind. “I was only trying to _help_ Chloe.”

“By what?!” She stormed away from him, turning on her heel to glare. “By _sleeping_ with me?” She threw her hands up in frustration, “how is _that_ supposed to help _anything_?”

Usually able to remain so calm when she was angry at him, she knew her rage was raising his own temper and for once he lashed back at her. “Because you were _moping_. Sitting around here like some dejected rejected animal and I was _trying_ to make you feel _better_.”

“Well, you failed, you just made it all _worse_.” She grit out, eyes hardening as she glared at him. “Thanks Lucifer. _Really._ ”

Apparently her sarcasm pushed him over the edge because as quick as a flash he was in front of her, eyes flashing red for a second, but she wasn’t afraid. Just completely and utterly angry. Their anger was fueling each other and it just raised her shackles as he glared at her, breathing heavily as he fought to restrain himself. “Would you stop being so _bloody_ infuriating and just _accept_ my help.”

“I don’t accept help by sleeping with people.” She barked. “Just because _fucking_ randomers helps _you_ release tension doesn’t mean it will help me.”

He looked taken back for a second, before his eyes narrowed into slits and he seethed. “So, I’m a _randomer_ now am I?” He smiled, the nasty smirk looking out of place on his lips as he snarled. “Great, I like to know where I stand.”

“Well, stop being so fucking _pushy_ all the time. You march around bossing people around, and I’m not one of your _subjects_ Lucifer.” She spat out the word. “You can’t make me do _anything_.”

“You’re unbelievable. How _dare_ you even think I’d make you do something you didn’t want to do.” He snorted, stepping backwards out of her face, “and I thought you were different.”

Her mind flashed back to their argument in Lux right before he’d vanished to find and hunt down Malcolm and she deflated. “Lucifer-”

“No-” he held up his hand and shook his head, “I don’t want to hear it.”

She took a few quick steps up to him, “I don’t mean-”

“Just-” he avoided looking at her, focusing on the wall behind her shoulder, “leave me alone.”

Swallowing, she tried to get his attention. “Lucifer-”

“Bugger off Chloe, I’ll come find you later.” He sounded a little broken, and her heart sank as she stared at him.

She had done this, she’d hurt him and now she was hurting because she’d lashed out at him. “I’m not going anywhere.”

His eyes flickered down to hers, “I mean it-”

Pushing away her inhibitions she closed her eyes for a second and shook her head. “I’m not leaving you.”

“You just did.” He pointed out, gesturing to their argument. “I have no idea what just happened.”

She grumbled under her breath, “I hate this whole sharing emotions bullshit.”

“We feed off each other.” His eyes saddened. “I don’t know how to stop it.” She bit her bottom lip, reaching up to frame his face and shaking her head as he watched her warily, “Chloe- just leave me be and I’ll get you home later.”

She didn’t really think about what she was doing, acting on instinct she wrapped her other hand around his face and pulled him down to her. He moved with her, mostly out of insecurity than anything, and his breath hitched in surprise as his lips met hers. Slowly moving over each other, Lucifer’s hands came up and landed on her shoulders and Chloe briefly wondered if he was going to push her away but they pulled her closer and she sighed against his lips, tasting of tobacco and whiskey, as she melted into him and her hands dropped to his chest to grip his shirt, as his moved to frame her face. The kiss was slow, deep, and despite they could feel the tendrils this kiss wasn’t about lust. They breathed in each other feeling their emotions as they soaked in the exhaustion their argument had stirred. When they pulled back, Lucifer rested his forehead against hers and their breaths mingled as they panted. Her heart leaped in her chest when he slipped his hand around the back of her head, dropping another lingering peck to her lips and muttered; “ _finally_.”

And she couldn’t agree more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating yesterday. I hit London town and got pretty drunk while working my way through way to many drinks and high end clubs. Lucifer would be proud. I've been paying for my fun today though.
> 
> Hope this chapter sufficed and I'll be updating tomorrow (UK time) evening as I'm travelling to Devon all day.


	9. Chapter 9

She didn’t sleep with him, as much as she wanted too. Both her mind and her body kept kindly reminding her that she wanted to practically jump his bones. If he was that good at kissing, the thought of him, _elsewhere_ , had her knees weak and heat curling low in her stomach. She knew he’d leap – quite literally – at the chance, all she had to do was say the word, but she didn’t feel like it was the right thing to do while she was still in Hell. If - she still meant _if_ because she wasn’t getting into some casual fling with him - she wanted to be in a living breathing body where she knew everything she was feeling was real. Back on her own turf where things made more sense. Their partnership meant to much to her to be thrown away like some used conquest and she refused to lose that, and they’d have to talk about it once she returned home.

Standing in his bedroom, she stared out the window with arms folded across her body and her hands tucked under her as she regarded the bustling of the courtyard beneath her. Lucifer had actually let his demons know this time that he was leaving, and that he would return periodically, so the hustle and bustle of the courtyard was the demons getting ready for his departure. Lucifer held a presence, whether it was on Earth where he waltzed through his club drawing attention as he gracefully twisted to the music, or in his actual domain. He had a way of holding himself that drew attention and Chloe knew exactly where to look as he strolled through his – _people_.

It had been a few days since their kiss and she hadn’t seen much of Lucifer. He had promised her they’d be going back to Earth soon, that his wings would make the trip a lot easier. They knew they had a long discussion coming up and had both been purposely avoiding it. Once on Earth, they still had his mother to deal with and the fact they technically _still_ hadn’t solved her being banned from Heaven. If she died there was a good chance she’d just end up back here. She scrunched up her nose at the thought of history repeating itself – there seemed no escape from time as it just went in circles. She was so distracted in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed she was no longer alone in Lucifer’s bedroom.

“Chloe?” A hesitant voice asked for permission.

She turned reluctantly away from the window, pulling her eyes away from Lucifer, as she twisted herself around to find Lukas hovering in the doorway. She nodded to grant him entry, to which he quickly came forwards, and sent him a warm smile. “Hi Lukas, everything okay?” He’d been training hard with Maze the past few days and she’d spent a little of her free time watching him as he’d learned how to escape from headlocks, take down an opponent taller than him, amongst other things. She was rather proud, she inwardly rolled her eyes at herself as she was sounding as parental as Lucifer had.

“Is it true, you’re leaving?"

Chloe bit the inside of her cheek and blew out hot air as she regarded the lost looking demon in front of her. He knew she could become so attached to something that was inherently created to cause pain. “I am.”

He’d approached her, yet still remained a little distance away as he shifted from foot to foot in front of her. “Will you be coming back?”

“Ah-” Chloe hesitated, and tried to send him a reassuring smile, “probably not.” As long as they figured out a solution so if she died again – not that she was planning too – she wouldn’t end up back here.

“But-” he paused and Chloe raised her eyebrows at him as he stalled and gave him permission to say whatever he wanted to say. She was gradually getting used to the whole _demons listened to her every whim_ thing and thought that probably – _definitely_ \- wasn’t a good thing and it meant it was time to get out of here. “I’ll miss you.” The demon looked at her, eyes looking a little downtrodden as he shifted in front of her.

If that didn’t make her heart soften for the lad she didn’t know what would have.

“Well-” Lucifer strolled in behind Lukas, slapping a hand on the boys shoulder, “you won’t be missing her for long.”

“Sir?” Lukas looked at him, eyes a little bewildered. “I don’t understand.”

“Yeah, what _are_ you talking about Lucifer?” Chloe raised an eyebrow inquisitively and wondered what the Hell he was planning. “Is there something you’re wanting to tell me?”

He sent her a devilish grin, eyes sparking as he beamed stepping further into the room and leaning against his bedpost as he eyed the demon. “Not much use making him a bodyguard if he isn’t going to do any _bodyguarding_ , is there?”

Oh no. Chloe glowered at Lucifer. “You better not be saying what I think you’re saying.”  
He smoothly arched an eyebrow, shooting her an enticing smile as his eyes scanned her body. “Or what?”

She shook off the feelings _that_ did to her body and narrowed her eyes. “He’s not getting a job at the Precinct.”

“An intern?” Lucifer smirked, eyeing up the demon as though he was picturing him in a slightly oversized suit with a clipboard in hand. “I’m sure I can-” he licked his bottom lip, “ _persuade_ Olivia to give him a job.”

Grumbling under her breath she muttered, “I’m sure you could,” and ignored his amused look as she sighed. “Lucifer, I can do my job pretty well without a bodyguard. I don’t need protecting.”

“Oh I know,” he waved her off, “this is more for _him_ than it is for you.”

She debated that, knowing Lukas would probably flourish a lot better out of Hell than stuck down here, but really not wanting to be responsible for him. She already had responsibilities in the form of an eight year old child. “Where’s he going to live?” Chloe puckered her lips and tilted her head back in exasperation, before looking at Lucifer in aggravation, “he’s not living with me.”

“Trixie would love him.” At her scowl he chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’ll find him somewhere.” Her supposed bodyguard would probably be living a better lifestyle than her in no time. She blinked as she realized Lucifer was looking at her, eyes slightly larger normal than usual and probably just short of pressing his hands together and begging.

Shooting him a glower as she reluctantly agreed, “ _fine_ ,” he grinned widely in response. She turned to Lukas who was still looking quite confused as what he probably saw as the ‘adults’ – she inwardly cringed at that – discussed in front of him. “Do you think you’ll be okay?”

“On Earth?” Lukas swallowed, looking between them. “Yeah, yes, I mean it’s-” he cut himself off and looked at the floor.

Lucifer laughed. “Don’t worry Lukas, you’ll fit right in. Maze will be around if you need any,” he regarded him slowly, “ _guidance_.”

Chloe tried to shake what Lucifer was inferring out of her head. “You’ll be with me most of the time.”

Lukas looked a little reassured at that and she sent him a small smile before turning to Lucifer. “You better make sure you explain to him how he’s supposed to,” she paused, tilting her head, “ _behave_ on Earth.”

Grinning, Lucifer mock saluted her as he pushed himself off the post and folded his arms, his shirt bunching up and tightening at the chest. Her eyes followed the movement. “Yes Ma’am,” his eyes ran the span of her body and she resisted the shudder, “ _anything else?_ ” He purred.

She rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to kiss him quiet, he probably wouldn’t appreciate the action in front of Lukas, and shooed him away with her hands. “ _Go_ ,” she lightly pushed him in the direction of Lukas. “You want to bring him, he’s your responsibility.”

Ignoring her, Lucifer smoothly twisted out of her grip and took her upper arms in his large warm hands, turning her around easily and pinning her to the spot with his gaze as he stared at her. “I’ll be back tonight.”

Swallowing, she nodded and smiled softly as she went willingly into his arms as he wrapped them around her; chin resting on top of hers. “I know.” She should be worried about how easy being in his arms was becoming routine, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Drawing back, he regarded her for a second, scrutinizing her face and softly brushing a strand of hair behind her ear before sending her a quick wink, pulling away he slapped Lukas’s shoulder as he waltzed past. “Come on, we’ll soon teach you how to have the ladies, and men, weak at the knees in no time.”

“ _Lucifer_ -” Chloe grit out, listening to his laugh as he left the room. Lukas shot her an apologetic smile and she smiled a little at him and nodded to tell him it was fine, before he turned at followed Lucifer down the hall.

\----

The rest of the day passed extraordinarily quickly and Lucifer found himself in front of his bedroom doors in no time. Lukas had taken to Earth custom really well and Lucifer told the young demon that after little more instruction from Maze, and a little more training, he should be on Earth and by Chloe’s side within the next week. Lucifer had pretty much decided from the moment he realized how quickly Lukas picked up Maze’s fighting training that he would be a good protector for Chloe. He knew she could protect herself, and was pretty kickass herself when she needed to be, but he felt just that tiny little bit reassured that there would be someone else by her side, who had her back, when he couldn’t be there.

It had been just over two months down here, and Chloe – despite not venturing outside much, if at all – had actually settled in rather well into his domain. He was going to miss her company when he was down here, she brightened everything and her laughter was a refreshing sound that washed away the horrors of his days. He settled himself with the knowledge that he would be regularly switching his time between Hell and Earth, and he still had Lux – he wasn’t closing down his club, he had a rep to live up too.

Pushing open his chamber doors, he found Chloe stretched out on his bed, book laying open on her chest as one hand rested on her stomach and the other behind her cheek as her head was turned to the side, eyes closed as she dozed. He could tell she hadn’t been asleep long, as her breaths weren’t quite even and deep enough for her to be completely asleep and as he approached she blinked open her eyes and sent him a small tired smile. “You know-” he crouched down beside the bed so he could brush away some of her hair that had fallen into her face, “I think you spend more time asleep than you do awake.”

She laughed softly, rolling herself over and onto her back as she stared at the ceiling before sending him an amused smile, “Hello to you too.”

He cracked a small smile before pushing himself up and leaning against one of the posts to his bed. As much as he enjoyed these little peaceful moments, the thought of what was to come had his stomach twisting a little in worry and eyes tightening as he watched her. She sat up, using her hands to push herself onto her knees and looked at him in concern. “Lucifer, is everything okay?”

He hesitated and she raised an eyebrow curiously, and he knew not telling her wasn’t really an option. “The next few days are going to be hard.”

Swallowing, she nodded, moving forwards on her knees so she could take his hands in hers. Her eyes crinkling as smiled reassuringly at him. “I know.” She squeezed his hands. “But we’ll get through it, right?” He didn’t answer her, just curled his lips inwards and gently pulled her off the bed. She followed, landing on her feet in front of him as she slipped off the bed, her eyes questioning. “Lucifer?”

He framed her face, closing his eyes before locking them with hers. “Of course, don’t we always?” He tried for a grin but it felt too stretched over his face as he rested his forehead against hers. There was a beat of silence before he pulled back, brushing away his feelings and burying them where they couldn’t bother him for now. “Right, no time like the present!”

“Now?” Her head tilted as she reached up for his face.

He placed his hands over hers and nodded, aiming for an amused smirk. “Why, you want to stay?” Her not amused scowl told him everything he needed to know and he grinned at her. “Come on then.” He pulled her further into the middle of the room.

“Wait, we don’t need to go outside?”

He shook his head. “We’re moving planes, not spaces-” she looked at him confused and he tapped her on the nose, “complicated. Just I need you to hold onto me, okay?” She nodded, and he gripped her upper arms firmly as he emphasized. “I mean it. If you let go I may not be able to get you back and who knows where your soul will wander off too.”

Gulping, she nodded. “That doesn’t sound too inviting.” Gripping her hands into his shirt she looked up at him. “Don’t worry, I won’t let go.”

He bobbed his head, sending her a reassuring smile at the worry that had tightened her eyes. “I won’t let you go.” He wrapped his arms around her, tasting the edges of her soul as he focused. “Right I need you to give me permission.”

Pulling back she looked at him a little in puzzlement. “What?” She whispered.

He framed her face with hands, scanning her eyes with urgency as he explained. “I have to connect our souls. So you have to let me in. It’s going to feel really invasive, and you won’t like it, but you have to push past that and _trust_ me.”

There was a beat of silence as she looked back at him, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as she thought then just when he thought he was going to – somehow – explain further, she nodded minutely, once, and uttered a soft, “okay.”

Breathing a sigh of deep relief he nodded and tightened his hands around her face, closing his eyes. “Good.”

“Do I-”

He shook his head, “you don’t have to do anything,” he could feel the nervousness as she shifted in his arms and he tried to reassure her, “just follow me and don’t pull back.” He could feel she was forcing herself to breath normally as she made small sound of agreement and tightened her grip in his shirt. “Ready?” He muttered.

Nodding once, he felt her steel herself as she replied. “Ready.”

He ran his hands through her hair once to reassure her before closing his eyes and focusing on the taste of her soul. He hadn’t done this in a long _long_ time and it made him jolt every time, little sparks shooting up his spine when touched the edges of her consciousness as he focused on letting himself into her head so he could connect. The whispers of the edge of her soul tasted like warmth, love and strength. Chloe’s soul made him feel like he was at home; all passion and fire basked with fondness and acceptance. She was loyalty, and devotion, wrapped up in stubbornness and defiance. She was perfect.

He could feel her bristle, pulling back in defense as he invaded her soul and everything it was, and he tightened his grip. _Chloe, it’s okay._ The sound of his voice in her head seemed to settle her and he brushed his hands down her arms, taking her hands in his, as he wrapped his wings around them. _Just accept me_. Her hesitance lasted a few seconds, and he hovered around the edges of her consciousness before she relented and let him in. _That’s it._ He reassured her, trying to sooth her slight panic as he caught the tendrils of her soul and wrapped them around himself. Her knees buckled and he pulled her to him as he merged her soul with his, and he felt her grasp on as he caught her. _Can you?_ He tried.

There was a beat of silence before she replied, a little unsure and quiet, but definitely there. _I can hear you. I’m here_.

 _Okay_. He pulled his wings around them further and buried his head downwards. _Just hold on._

She didn’t reply, but he could feel her presence as he concentrated, pushing them upwards, and out. He wrapped her in his embrace as he focused on shifting them, feeling as the world around them blended and merged as the darkness enclosed in on them. Time seemed to stop, for a few beats, the world they were in melting away and shifting beneath their feet…

…and the next thing he was aware of was gasping upwards. Air filling his lungs as he shot off the cold warehouse floor and onto his knees. Ignoring the shocked gasp from behind him somewhere he immediately reached out for Chloe, pulling the cold body up and feeling her restless as she fluttered still attached to him upon seeing her body. He took a second to push the hair out of her face before leaning down and meeting her lips, hard. He kissed her focusing on giving all the warmth and love; the pure essence of her soul back to her. He felt her rush out of him and felt a tiny bit of loss before the body beneath him surged to life, turning away and coughing as oxygen rushed through her deprived body-

\----

Chloe felt unnerved, body propelling forwards as she coughed and gasped for air as she kneeled on the frigidly hard floor, cold seeping into her knees as she heaved. She gulped down air, feeling it rush into her lungs as they cramped and convulsed, unused to the oxygen that was forcing them to pump air through her body. Concentrating, she screwed her eyes shut and focused on slowing her breathing, trying to get it under control as she panted. Gradually her body calmed down, and she realized there was a hand rubbing slow circles on her back and she had one hand braced on the cold concrete, the other on her bended knee as she stared blankly at the floor.

She groaned, her muscles feeling heavy as she slumped backwards onto her hands, hitting the slightly damp floor as she collapsed backwards. “I hurt.”

Lucifer rubbed her back, before moving her head away from where it had once again fallen into her face. “That’s normal-”

She waved him off, shooting him a look. “Yeah, oxygen deprived limbs and muscles.”

He grinned at her, eyes still a little concerned, “ _exactly_.” He regarded her for a second. “You okay, you’re looking a little pale-”

“Chloe?” They both looked up as Dan came rushing over to them. “What?” He crouched down to her level, pulling her forwards as he stared frantically into her eyes. “You were dead. How? What?”

She squinted, blinking away the blurry edges of her vision as his face wavered around the edges. “ _Dan_?” She frowned at him. “What are-? You’re supposed to be in jail.” She tried to push herself upwards but quickly figured out her limbs were not up to that yet, and promptly fell back on her ass. “How are you here?”

“The judge let me out on bail…” he trailed off, shooting a glance at Lucifer who was surreptitiously looking away, “something about their not being enough ‘evidence’. I was on my way to find you and let you know when no one could get a hold of you, so I tracked your GPS.” His grip tightened on her face. “Chloe you were _dead_.”

“Uh,” a wave of queasiness shook her as he moved her body and she gritted her teeth against it, “Dan-”

“That’s enough of that,” Lucifer gently interjected, shooting Dan a stern ‘do not touch’ look as he curled his hands over her shoulders, “you’re feeling sick.”

She nodded, trying to push the feeling away by swallowing, twice, but to no avail. She wrenched herself away from him, managing to stumble away a few steps before throwing up. The dinner her body had eaten a few hours prior coming up, and she wrinkled her nose at the smell as she staggered backwards. She’d eaten in Hell, obviously, not that she’d needed too, but that wasn’t in her body and the thought of technically two months old food had her head spinning and she wobbled as she stood. A pair of familiar comforting hands wrapped themselves around her upper arms and Lucifer was peering into her face, sending her a reassuring smile. “You’re soul sick.”

She blinked, “I’m _what_?”

“Your soul hasn’t been tied to a body in a while. Now it’s feeling unsettled as you’re locked in but not completely attached.”

“Chloe, what the Hell is he talking about?” Dan had wandered up to them, and was staring at Lucifer as though he was crazy.

Chloe ignored him, she would deal with Dan in a minute, and refocused on Lucifer. “Okay, how to I fix it?”

“You’re seriously listening to this insane idiot?”

Shooting him a side glance, she shook her head slightly. “Dan, in a minute.” Craning her head to Lucifer she took a deep breath, trying to settle the uneasiness to her stomach, with no avail. “What do I do?”

He regarded her slowly, calculating expression searching her face before meeting her eyes. “You know how I showed you to stop feeling all those negative pesky emotions in Hell?” She nodded, remembering their little moment and how special it had felt before Lilith and her Lilim had ruined it. “Sort of like that,” he shifted his hands to her face and closed his eyes. “Focus on the uneasiness. It should feel a little like something is loose, not tired down properly, and grasp it.”

She closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling how her feet were touching the floor but something in her felt like it was trying to pull away. She imagined herself grabbing it and holding it as it struggled. “Okay,” she breathed, opening her eyes to lock onto his already open ones. “Got it.”

He smiled joyfully at her. “Brilliant, you’re getting good at this.” He exclaimed, ignoring her roll of the eyes at his remark. “Now pull downwards, sharply. Imagining you’re attaching it to the ground and lock it in place.”

She followed his instruction, immediately feeling better as the queasiness disappeared and she breathed a sigh of relief as she no longer felt like hurling whatever was left in her stomach. “Thank you.” She smiled.

The winning grin he shot back at her made her want to lean up and kiss him, take it for herself, and the way his eyes flickered down to hers meant he was thinking the same thing. “No problem,” he took her hands in his, “if it comes back, which it may do, just do that and after a while your soul should get the message.”

She laughed, shaking her head slightly, reaching up to caress his face, brushing her thumb against his cheek, and pushed herself up as she pulled his head down to meet hers, his hands falling to her waist as he moved.

“-just what the heck is going on?”

“Ah,” Lucifer closed his eyes in irritation as his hands squeezed her waist, closing his eyes briefly as he groaned, “I’d forgotten about him.” She shot him an apologetic look as they pulled away from each other.

“Detective Douche. How _wonderful_ it is to see you,” he gestured at him, “free and all.”

Dan was looking between them, eyes tight and confused. “Were you about to kiss my wife?”

“Ex-wife. And I believe,” Lucifer’s eyes sparkled as he glanced at her, “ _she_ was about to kiss _me_.”

She sent a small slap to his arm, “you’re incorrigible”, not really finding it in her to be that annoyed as she looked at her ex-husband who was looking at her perplexed, eyes narrowed nearly into suspicious slits.

“Chloe?” He frowned. “Just what is going on here? You were _dead_ , so was he-” he shoved a finger at Lucifer who brushed it away in disdain, “how are you- what is happening? Now you’re _kissing_ him?”

“A lot has happened Dan.” Chloe sighed, running her hands though her hair and yanking the hair tie from it so it settled around her shoulders.

“You can’t have been dead more than a few minutes.” Dan looked like he couldn’t quite believe what he was saying. “Although you were _dead_ -”

Lucifer waved his hand, “yes, _yes_ , so you _keep_ saying.” He sighed, contempt evident on his face as he scanned the man in front of him. “Very well, if you must know. Chloe and I spent the past two-ish months in Hell,” he smirked as Chloe glowered at him, “parting it out with all my demons.”

“Wasn’t much of a party,” Chloe grumbled under her breath, crossing her arms.

“You’re only saying that.” He nudged her with his shoulder and his smile brazen as he chuckled. “Plus, you made a name for yourself.”

“Whoop-di-do for me.” She rolled her eyes, but was unable to stop the small smile as he beamed cheekily at her. “You’re-”

“Incorrigible, insufferable,” he laughed at her, “I _know_. Any other words you’d like to throw in there? Perhaps gorgeously devilishly handsome?”

Dan scoffed, pinning Chloe with a disapproving look. “You’re actually believing his bullshit now?” She declined to answer so he turned his glare on Lucifer. “Did you drug her or something?”

“No one’s drugged me Dan,” Chloe raised her eyes skywards, wishing she had more patience, “you asked what happened, Lucifer answered.”

“Chloe, what really happened? How were you dead, and now you’re-” he waved a hand at her very alive, and slightly flustered form as she glared at him.

“We just told you” at his skeptical expression she let out a frustrated sound and turned away to find Lucifer grinning at her, eyes crinkled in amusement. “ _What_?” She griped.

He smoothly arched an eyebrow, “annoying isn’t it?"

She pulled a face. “Ha ha, so funny.”

His lips tilted upwards, “I know.” Then, turning abruptly he clapped, and Chloe jumped a little in surprise as he fixed his gaze on Dan, “look Dannyboy, Chloe and I have things to do so if you’ll be so kind to leave us be, and I’m sure she’ll clear everything up later.”

Eyes flickering uncertainly, they landed on Chloe and then back to Lucifer. “Uh-”

“Come on, you want to let us go really. Don’t you? This is all too much; you’d much rather go home and have a good cold beer and watch the game.”

Blinking, Dan nodded in a daze, stepping backwards and out of their way. Chloe sighed, shaking her head, but took Lucifer’s offered hand and squeezed in a way that said they’d be having words later. Lucifer’s amused gaze as he looked down at her told her he was _very_ much looking forward to it. He tugged her hand, and they left Dan standing a little confused in his spot as he blinked away the stupor.

“Oh, do take care of the ambulance for us will you? That’ll be wonderful, thank you!” Lucifer called over his shoulders as the beginnings of sirens could be heard in the distance.

They found Chloe’s car exactly where they left it, and Chloe braced herself against it and Lucifer took her keys. She handed them over – this time, and the only time – without protesting. “This is all so surreal,” she mumbled, tilting her head against the slight breeze and smiling at the stars she could see in the black sky. They were on the outskirts of the city, and the glittering of the sky was viewable. “It’s been how long here?”

“A few minutes, according to Dan.” Lucifer mirrored her position, folding his arms and looking at the sky. “It’ll take some getting used to.”

“Feels like mega jetlag,” she laughed to herself, suddenly feeling exhausted and remembering Trixie would be with her babysitter at home. Her daughter. Alive. Warm. Human. She suddenly couldn’t wait to get home. They still may have lots of crap to fix, including her still damned to Hell state, but for now the thought of her daughter in her arms encompassed everything.

She turned to Lucifer, to find him looking at her a soft look in his eyes as he watched. “Home?” He muttered, reaching up to frame her face and smiling softly, “adventure time over."

Nodding enthusiastically, she ignored the mournful abandoned look as his eyes tightened and he smiled sadly at her. She reached up, fisted her hands into his chest and pulled him down, this time there were no interruptions as their lips met. He kissed her slowly, lips lazily moving over hers and she sunk into it; closing her eyes as the still darkened night sky shifted slowly around them.

When they pulled back for air, she looked up at him, watching him staring silently at her his eyes patient and resigned, but accepting. She sent him a gentle tender reassuring smile and tightened her grip on him, deciding she’d never ever let him go, as long as wanted her then here she’d be. Leaning up she mingled her breath with his; injecting everything she was as she wished, begged, him to understand everything she felt within a single whispered word uttered against his lips: “ _stay_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was _hell_ to upload. I have no wifi and I can't connect my laptop via mobile hotspot. Spent all day looking for an Internet Cafe... found a Costa with no wifi (waste of a coffee). Eventually I sent file via Bluetooth to my phone and have updated from there.
> 
> I will re-grammar check again when I have wifi and there will also be an epilogue that I'll upload on Sunday when I'm home.
> 
> Hope this was okay and you enjoyed it despite the obviously quick edit. Lots of writing is being done this week so they'll be lots more new material from me.
> 
> Let me know your thoughts.
> 
> Oh I also wanted to quickly say to any Americans or anyone else effected. I'm so so sorry about the Orlando Pulse shooting. It absolutely breaks my heart and I did have a little sob to myself as I watched the news when it happened. ♡. I hope everyone is okay and I'm sending all my English love to you.


	10. Epilogue

Lucifer had been right, as per annoyingly usual. It had taken her a few weeks to – _adapt_ – to being on Earth again. She found it vaguely amusing how that made her sound like an astronaut. Could jumping planes be compared to jetting into space? The floor certainly went out from beneath her feet, and the feeling of disorientation had been strong for a while. She was finally beginning to find her feet again… meaning she wasn’t running to the bathroom every few hours to throw up whatever she’d previously eaten. Trixie had been nervously hovering around her since her first bathroom trip and she’d tried to reassure her daughter that she was fine, they were fine, and everything was fine.

And it was.

Sort of.

At first it had been weird coming home to an excited Trixie who’d launched herself at her, and then Lucifer in turn who’d reacted in his usual ‘hello, child-’ and awkwardly patted her head until Chloe steered her away and into the kitchen as her daughter babbled about her day and how she’d met a new friend, called Sophie, and did mommy have a good day at work. Chloe had a little trouble answering, freezing as she hadn’t prepared an answer and she was too exhausted to act on her feet. Lucifer – for one glorious second – had taken over, herded her daughter and placed her on the couch explaining they’d had a bad day and that she needed to look after Chloe for a little while until she felt better.

Trixie had taken her ‘care giver’ duties dutifully and was constantly following Chloe around as she moved from room to room, worrying her little teeth and constantly offering Chloe water when she realized she wasn’t able to hold down another meal. She wasn’t sure, but Chloe was suspicious that Trixie and Lucifer had some sort of contact so he could keep an eye on her – and Chloe had given herself a mental note to scour her daughter’s room for a phone, or some mode of contact between her Trixie and the man who had turned her life upside down.

They hadn’t seen that much of each other over the past few weeks. Chloe had taken an impromptu vacation from work and had spent it resting at home; trying to reacclimatize herself. She’d managed to keep the past few days food down and was no longer feeling as dizzy when she stood up, so she figured she’d be safe enough to drive over to Lux – she wouldn’t admit it out loud to anyone but herself (and maybe Lucifer if he asked) but she missed his sturdy demeanor. The way he’d always be there, a constant reassuring presence who always had her back. Plus, she told herself as she settled behind the wheel, they had things to discuss.

Like his mother.

Among other things.

She wasn’t letting him deal with her alone. For one she’d met the woman – kind of, if she wasn’t so busy dying she’d have said a lot more, perhaps given the woman a piece of her mind – but Chloe also wanted penance. His mother had been a stain on their lives, and the thought of her was now plaguing Chloe nightly as she thought about the damage she could cause on her city and the innocent lives which lived here. For the sakes of her own daughter; she was going to help Lucifer put the other mother down. She set her chin as she drove; he couldn’t – _wouldn’t_ – refuse her. She wouldn’t drop the subject until he understood she was helping. Any way possible. She wasn’t going to let it rest until his mother was locked back up in Hell, where she belonged.

Putting her car in park in the alley beside the club she dusted off her jacket as she closed the door behind her. Chloe was easily able to thread the line of babbling girls and wide-eyed men trying a little _too_ hard to look sober, and she sent a small smile to the bouncer as he pulled back the red rope barrier for her and pushed open the door with his other hand. Telling the grumble of protests of: ‘ _why does she get entry?’, ‘she isn’t even dressed to party’, ‘what’s so special about her?_ ’ at her entry to be quiet as she disappeared into the inky blackness of Lux.

It wasn’t until she pushed up her sleeves as she wandered through the club, the sheer heat of the people shocking her a little as she pushed dancing party-goers out her way as she made her way to the elevator in the back, that she realized how Lucifer had somehow managed to make Lux a perfect halfway point to Hell. It had the hustle and bustle of earth, the freedom and the strong taste of being _alive_ that Chloe had so missed; but it was darker and the lights shimmered throwing shards of color around the room reminding her of his setting star. The music pumping was the perfect volume of just a _little too loud_ to think properly but not loud enough to make debauchery impossible as the couples writhed against each other on the dance floor. It was – she supposed, despite how ironic it sounded – his little slice of Heaven. Of home. Perfectly balanced between the two. The best of both worlds.

She could feel a small smile floating around the edges of her lips as she shook her head fondly. Understanding his love of his club a lot more now than she did a few short months ago. She leaned herself against a railing on the balcony overlooking the dancefloor, pushing herself up on her tiptoes, to check Lucifer wasn’t milling around his patrons before she made her way to his penthouse. Spotting Maze at the bar, she sent her a small wave when the bartender’s eyes landed on her and there was no ignoring the dramatic roll of eyes Lucifer’s demon sent her before she pointedly turned away back to the drink she was pouring.

Chloe’s gaze moved, there slightly slumped against the bar, looking a little unsure as his eyes scanned the crowd nervously, was Lukas. His eyes lit up as he spotted her, and he pushed himself up. Chloe quickly held up a hand to tell him to stay here. He paused, dropping his head but nodding and resumed his position. Feeling bad, Chloe pulled a hand through her hair before pulling it up and away from where it was beginning to stick to her neck and into a messy ponytail on the back of her head. She’d reconcile with him later, on her way out of here. She had to question Lucifer on what he was exactly supposed to be doing up here before she talked to Lukas. Although she did miss the little shy smiles and joyful expressions the kid – _demon_ she corrected herself – sent her, and shook her head at herself at how easily she’d become attached to the boy as she turned away resuming her mission…

… only to bump into a random guy who had snuck up behind her while she’d been surveying the crowd lost in thought. She raised an eyebrow at him, trying to move around, but he matched her step and grinned at her. His teeth gleaming in the light as he danced. Frowning in frustration, Chloe shook her head at the guy and once again tried to push past, with him immediately moving to cross her path. Huffing at the probably inebriated guy; Chloe stomped on his foot and shoved his shoulder as she walked the last few steps to Lucifer’s elevator and hopefully silent relief from the slightly too loud music for her current tastes.

Why Lucifer couldn’t have a back entrance to his penthouse Chloe would never understand… well, she did, he liked the attention. The Devil soaked up attention like a sponge absorbed water – if Chloe didn’t understand him as well as she did she’d be jealous. But she wasn’t. Just annoyed at jerks who thought they could stop her from reaching her goal.

“Hey! Lady, I don’t think you can go in there.”

Drunk guy had followed her, and was grinning down at her his eyes slightly unfocused as she placed a hand on the wall to steady himself.

“Think you’ll find I can.” Chloe sent a smile to the guy, folding her arms, not really in the mood to be avoiding and dissuading drunken – by the looks of him much too young for her – guys.

He followed the movement, wobbling a little on his feet. “Um, that’s the man’s private penthouse. You can’t go up there unless he invites you,” he looked her up and down, sending her what he probably thought was a tempting smile, “and I don’t think he’s invited you.”

“Ouch,” Chloe would have been more bothered if she wasn’t thinking about the killer hangover this guy was going to have tomorrow. The thought made even her stomach churn. And she instead arched an eyebrow, stretching her thumb to the keypad without looking away from Mr Drunk Guy. She grinned as his expression fell when the scanner pinged green and pulled her hand back; unable to resist as she stepped into the warm glow of the interior and grateful for the soundproofing walls soothing the thumping music: “I’m always invited.”

The man’s mouth was slightly agape as the doors slid shut and Chloe slumped herself against the elevator walls when he was out of sight. Lucifer had said to her – months and months, felt like an eternity ago – that the door was always open. So much had happened since then, but she was pretty sure the statement still stood. Especially now she understood him on a level she hadn’t believed before. He was her entry to a world she wasn’t really made for – and that scared her, but she couldn’t leave it alone. She would always want to know more.

Chloe was an inherently curious person, and it had often gotten her into trouble as a child, and as a Detective. That wasn’t going to suddenly stop now she’d discovered there was a _lot_ more to life than she’d previously thought. She wasn’t sure, but she thought Lucifer understood and was ever grateful to him when he didn’t brush off her questions with a roll of the eyes or a mutter that it was obvious. If anything, in Hell or from her odd question when she’d managed to grab a second with him on Earth since returning, he’d answered her curiosity with enthusiasm. Exuberance pouring from every pour as he gave her answers… slightly more wistful when she’d asked about Heaven but generally eagerly enthusiastic to explain to her; like it meant everything that she listened to him, his side, and often agreed with him.

He was right. God was unfair. And she was angry that he’d cast Lucifer from his _home_ simply because he’d questioned his Father’s will. But she kept her silent anger to herself, figuring she was already damned to Hell anyway so how much worse could it get but guessing there were probably _many_ things she still didn’t understand… but she knew Lucifer could sense how she felt as she ranted in her head against the lord of all creation. He’d found it funny and she’d managed to glare him into silence, as he held up his hands, and had swiftly changed the topic into safer areas.

Their weird emotional connection bond thing had changed since returning to Earth. They found – thank whoever – that they could control the extent to which it affected them. The further the distance between them the weaker the connection, and she had been able to build herself – on her own, with no help from Lucifer – what she called an ‘emotional shield’ where she could block his emotions from changing hers. She could still feel his emotions but stop them affecting her, but often she just blocked everything out – it was unnerving feeling what someone else was feeling.

Her ‘shield’ - Lucifer hated her calling it that but she didn’t know what else to call it so it was staying - was fragile and needed work. It often dropped in the night and she could wake with a burst of emotion that definitely _wasn’t_ hers as she flew off the bed. That was one of the reasons she was here now, she needed to talk to him about the flutter of worry she was feeling around her heart and the building tension that bubbled just below the surface that could quickly burst into rage if he left it unchecked. It had shot up in intensity tonight and she needed to see if he was okay…

…her breath halted in her throat for a second as the elevator doors opened to reveal a tableau she definitely was _not_ expecting. Although it did explain what Lucifer was feeling as she stepped further into the room to clear her throat.

Dan swung around, glaring, and coming up short when he realized Chloe was staring at him in confusion. “Chloe? What are you doing here?” Dan was pissed. She didn’t need to be able to feel his emotions to see the anger radiating off him as he stood a few feet away from Lucifer who remained sprawled on the couch, one arm spread across the back and a drink in the other. A picture of nonchalance. Chloe knew otherwise.

Blowing out her cheeks Chloe shook her head. “I came to see Lucifer.” She pointed at her chest and raised an eyebrow in his direction pointedly, he matched her expression but she caught the look that said he understood what she meant. Turning back to her ex-husband, eyebrows raised, she folded her arms, “why are _you_ here?”

“You came to see _him_?” Still facing her, Dan threw a hand behind him to gesture Lucifer who looked at the hand disdainfully. “ _Jesus_ , Chloe, just how deep are you in with this guy?”

“Why must you humans always throw up _his_ name-” Lucifer choosing an appropriate moment to speak dropped his head back against the couch, “I mean, he doesn’t care. If anything he finds it _annoying_ -”

“Lucifer, be quiet.” Chloe glowered, briefly turning her attention to him and shooting him a glare before refocusing her attention on Dan and ignoring his mock salute. He was still bubbling and Chloe needed to get Dan out of here before he exploded. “Dan, is there a reason you’re here because if not then I suggest you leave.”

“He came to reprimand and warn me off you-” Lucifer wagged his eyebrows once, “apparently I’m an _unfavorable_ ,” he played with the word, turning it over in his mouth and pursing his lips to make the ‘b’ pop, “presence in your life.” 

Chloe guessed ‘unfavorable’ wasn’t the word Dan had used but she got the picture. Rolling her eyes she turned to her ex, “Dan-”

“No, Chloe, you’re prancing around with this guy, who thinks he’s the Devil, and you don’t see just how much dang-”

“ _Prancing_?” Chloe interrupted, frowning, “I’m not prancing around with anyone Dan. And who I associate myself with is none of your business.”

“It is if he’s somehow persuaded you he’s actually the Devil and gotten you to believe his delusions. God knows what he’s feeding you but he’s got you as delud-”

Chloe easily slipped between Lucifer and Dan, feeling the spike in her chest, just a millisecond before Lucifer erupted off the couch. Holding out her hands, so they rested on Lucifer’s chest, she craned her head to look at him. “ _Don’t_ -”

“He-” Lucifer gritted his teeth and Chloe could feel just how hard he was trying to withhold his boiling rage for her ex-husband.

Shifting uncomfortably at the unfamiliar feeling, Chloe tightened her grip and swallowed, “I _know._ ” With that he looked down at her, his eyes glittering in the low light of his penthouse, “I know. But _hold_ it, Lucifer, not here.”

His eyes widened as he watched her struggle with her own emotions and his rage as she dealt with both him and her ex and immediately tightened his hold on his anger further; closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Chloe didn’t know what he thought of, where his _happy_ place was, but the constant pressure in her chest ebbed a little and she sent him a small grateful smile. “Chloe, I’m- are you-?”

She waved him off, sending him a reassuring smile. “I got it. Don’t worry.”

He seemed to deflate a little in relief and she gave him a small pat on his chest before turning around to face Dan, closing her eyes for a second to steel herself. “Dan. You need to leave.”

He was watching, eyes huge in their sockets and brows furrowed in confusion. “What just happened?”

“Nothing you need to worry yourself with,” she raised a hand now dropped by her side to shield between herself and Dan, the other reaching behind to link with Lucifer’s, “but I think you should just go before anything happens.”

She cringed at the choice of words.

“ _Happens_?” Dan glowered. “What would _happen_ Chloe? If I leave you’re coming with me.”

She shook her head, “Dan, I need to talk to Lucifer, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“How do I even know you’ll _be_ there tomorrow?”

Feeling Lucifer bristle behind her as he struggled with his rage, she squeezed his hand reassuringly, and partially in restraint, as she felt him tense. “I would never hurt her.”

Dan’s eyes flicked to Lucifer, “sure, I’m sure that’s what you think-”

Upon feeling the anger nearly topple over again, Chloe placed a hand on Dan’s chest and pushed him slightly. “You need to go, _now_.”

Stumbling back a step at the unexpected contact, he regarded her and Lucifer simultaneously. “Chloe-”

“No, Dan, I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself. I’m fine here, and Lucifer is a good man who’d never _ever_ hurt me. I need you to leave-”

“Just-”

“No.” She shook her head, pulling herself away from Lucifer and crowding Dan towards the elevator. “Just go, you’re causing upset. Trixie is with my mom at mine, you can pick her up on your way home. Just let me know. But you need to go now.” Her mom had been informed to looked after her daughter until Chloe returned, but if Dan took her at least it’d give her a little rest from the over exuberance of an eight year old Trixie.

“Promise me you’ll call in the morning.” Dan eyed Lucifer warily behind her back, his eyes once again falling on her. “Chloe, please, you’re the mother of our _child_. I need to know you’re okay.”

Rolling her eyes, “yes, fine,” she agreed for the sake of it. Anything to get him out of Lucifer’s penthouse. 

Stopping for a second as he reached the elevator, he watched as Chloe pressed the call button and the doors slid open. “I-” He stepped inside.

“Bye, Dan.” She watched the doors close and as soon as he was gone she dropped her head into her hands and groaned in frustration.

“Chloe-”

“Shh-” she toed off her shoes, her feet aching and wandered her way over to the bar. Propping herself up on a bar stool she felt Lucifer come up by the side of her, “what the Hell happened?”

He grinned at her choice of words and leaned against the bar next to her. “Your ex paid me a visit. Stormed in here about twenty minutes before you and started a full on tirade of how I’m no good for you and how you deserve much better-” he jovially rolled his eyes but Chloe could see the slight grave tilt to his lips as she stared just over her shoulder.

Pushing herself to her feet, using the slightly twisty bar stool to gain a little bit of height she raised herself to his eye line. His hands automatically coming to her hips to steady her as she wobbled as the stool swiveled. “Hey-” he was still looking away from her so she used a hand to turn his head to hers and he met her eyes solemnly, “I think I get the final word in who is or isn’t good for me,” she raised an eyebrow playfully trying to lighten the mood, “don’t you think?”

He sighed, “Chloe-”

She silenced him with her lips, flicking her tongue over his bottom lip and nibbling slightly. His hands tightened at her hips and she added a little pressure to her kiss before pulling back. His eyes were darker, and slightly hooded as he stared at her. “Now,” she mock glared at him, “that’s enough of _that_.”

He leaned back in to kiss her again, humming against her lips, “I agree, why talk about the douche when we can be doing _much_ more interesting things with our tongues-”

Drawing away, she placed a finger on his lips at his protest. “We have things we need to talk about Luce.”

She didn’t often use his nickname, it always gave her a kick when she did as his eyes impossibly darkened further and his fingers gripped her hips as he lifted her off the stool. She squealed, wrapping her legs around his waist so she didn’t lose her balance. “Put me down,” he didn’t, propping her up on the bar top and situating himself between her legs, immediately moving to the gap between her shoulder and neck; skimming his nose up her shoulder and placing a kiss just below her ear. “Lucifer, I mean it.” She pushed against his chest and he growled, but stepped back and let her drop to the floor.

“What could we possibly have to talk about that’s better than _this_ -” he skimmed his hands up her sides and raised an eyebrow pointedly when she shivered, a satisfied smile slipping over his slips as he rest his hands on her shoulders and pulled her closer…

She pulled away, stepping back and slipping out from his arms. Getting some distance so she could think. He pouted at her but let her move away with no move to stop her. “We need to talk about your mother and about,” she gestured at herself.

His expression fell, and he sulked as he marched himself over to his couch and threw himself down, crossing his legs and his arms thrown out along the back. “That’s _boring,_ ” his eyes tracked her as she began to pace a little.

“No, I want to know what’s happening. Have you found her? Where _is_ she?”

“Chloe-” He was staring at her, eyes dark and solemn.

“I’m helping.” She was prepared for this argument, talking it over with herself a million times with all the ways she could think Lucifer would use to weed her out of it. “That’s final.”

“Mother, she’s-”

“Dangerous?” Chloe rolled her eyes, plopping herself down on the couch opposite him to keep a little bit of distance so she could think. “I know. She’s the reason I died.”

He winced at the reminder. “She’ll pay for that, I’ll-”

“ _We’ll,_ ” she reaffirmed. He looked at her in confusion for a second, eyes clouding in puzzlement. “You want to punish her. I’m not going to stop you-” she waved a hand, “but I need to be there. I _need_ to be.”

He was scrutinizing her carefully, “I-”

“She practically _killed_ me herself. I need to see her-” she cut herself off but gestured with her hands more and his eyes narrowed as he got her meaning. She needed to see his mother suffer. She needed to be completely utterly sure that she was not escaping Hell again. She needed to know she was safe. That her city was safe. That her _daughter_ was safe. “Lucifer-”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” She frowned at his simple answer as he stared at her.

He nodded, uncrossing his legs and leaning forwards, hands linking together dangling between his legs. “Yes. Okay.” An amused smile dancing on the edges of his lips as she stared at her confounded expression.

She delated, relief as well as apprehension filling her as she breathed out heavily. “Thank you.” That was easier than she expected and she figured there would be more arguments about it in their future when he realized how far she needed to know everything, how much she wanted to help, but she let it slide for now. “Do you know where she is?”

His expression fell, “no.” He dropped himself backwards to look at the ceiling, “all quiet on that front. Amenadiel is still out looking for her, but her little _empire_ ,” he spat the word, “seems to have disbanded overnight and she’s vanished, again.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

He shook his head. “Not until we know more,” he cut himself off and raised his head, sending her a smirk, "I’ll keep you in the loop, don’t worry.”

Nodding, “good,” she fiddled with her hands in her lap, “we wait then.”

He returned the nod, “we do, for now,” and reached for a drink he’d had readily poured on the table. He seemed to be internally debating with himself as he glanced at her and his drink. She let him without interruption, waiting for him to speak and playing with her hands as a distraction from the foreboding feeling she could feeling building in her chest – unsure if it was her own or his. “Amenadiel dropped by yesterday though for an entirely different reason…” he trailed off and she looked up from her hands in curiosity to find him staring at her; half way between interest and dulled amusement.

“What about?”

“You, of course.” He sighed. “It appears since our little trip to Hell and back, Father has made a reappearance in Heaven.”

Leaning forwards, she pinned him with her stare. “He has?” Frowning, the cogs in her mind turning, “what has that got to do with me?”

He chuckled, the sound brittle and not comforting. “You’re not damned to Hell anymore.”

Perking up, “why-,” confusion filling her being at his tone she stared at him, “surely that’s a good thing?”

This time it was his turn to pin her with his stare, eyes serious and earnest as he pressed forwards. “There’s always a catch with my dad.”

Feeling her stomach sink, she swallowed harshly and turned her lips inwards. “What’s that?”

“You have to choose.”

Blinking, she sat back in confusion, her heart plummeting and stomach churning. “Choose? Choose what?” She had a bad feeling and this time she was sure it was her own feeling as her throat tightened.

“I’m still destined to rule Hell for all eternity,” he rolled his eyes, “obviously. Not that I plan on going back-” he cut himself off and stared at her, “but you can go to Heaven when you die, if you so wish, but you’ll never be able to see me again.”

“I- what- that’s,” Chloe stood up in anger, “that’s _unfair_.” She glared at nothing. “That’s completely and utterly-” she swung around to Lucifer, “why the Hell would he do _that_?!” She knew her daughter would be going to Heaven, along with her mother and Dan and all her family and those she cared deeply about. “What? Have I done something to piss him off or-”

He stood up quickly, catching her hands in midair. “No, _no_ , of course not.” He tried for a reassuring smile but it came out a little tight as he held her hands.

She slackened her grip, feeling a little defeated, “then why?”

Sighing, he pulled her in closer. “He gave me my wings back so I have my full strength to re-capture mother and put her back where she belongs. I’m no longer even slightly mortal-” he cut himself off, eyeing her carefully to gauge her reaction. She kept it artfully blank as she listened. “My job is to recapture mother. But where I stay depends on _you_.”

She frowned, “me?”

Nodding, he tightened his grip. “If you choose Heaven – which you _should_ \- then I’ll be going back to rule Hell full time like a good little solider boy,”

Her voice was a whisper, “no-”

This time he cut her off, “but if you choose-” he paused, choosing his words carefully, “ _me_ , then I’ll be allowed to stay with you here until your time comes-” they both winced at that, Chloe vividly remembered dying and hoped to anyone who was listening that when she did die she wouldn’t go out the same way, “-when you die, we’ll both go-” he pointed downwards to symbol what he meant.

A beat of silence as they stared at each other. Chloe dropped her head.

“This all feels like one big joke, and someone’s going to jump out the cupboard and yell ‘got you’ any minute.” She mumbled to herself, looking at her shoes as she scuffed them across Lucifer’s perfect marble floor.

Tilting her chin up with his index finger, Lucifer smiled sadly at her. “I’ve always said assuming my Father’s master plan was a _good_ one was a fault of humanity…”

“So-” she swallowed. This was horrible, she wasn’t sure what on Earth she was supposed to do. She didn’t want to return to Hell, and she didn’t want to lose her family, but she also didn’t want to lose this wonderful, beautiful, broken – _kind_ – man standing in front of her. He was trying to remain brave, but she could see the total defeat in his eyes and her stomach sank. “I don’t-”

“You have to choose Heaven Chloe. Choose Trixie, and your Mum… your Dad will be there.” He sent her a soft smile. “You do that, that’s the right choice.”

She hesitated, thoughts firing at a million miles an hour, “but-”

He pressed a finger over her mouth. “No buts- no talking, not now-” he picked her up and she went willingly, this time locking her legs around his waist tightly and fastening her lips and gripping his shirt in her fists as she clung on. He kissed her back, running his hands down her sides, sliding them under her to keep her supported as he carried her towards the bedroom.

The truth settled within her heart as he gently, for the first time, laid her down on his bed. Gazing at her, eyes roaming over her form like he was trying to commit her to memory. Like she was his salvation, his world, his everything… and her breath caught in her throat-

She wouldn’t let him go.

She couldn’t tell him … not yet, not until… she keened as he ran his warms up her sides and knotted them in her hair as he pulled her up to kiss him, she would never leave his side.

She loved him.

And that had to stand for something.

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it. We have come to an end my friends. I hope you enjoyed the ride.
> 
> I didn't include any smut in this chapter as I thought it wouldn't fit with the flow of the story. However, I will be posting many smutty/fluffy oneshots in the future. I have a few already half written. 
> 
> Thank you to all those who reviewed, and followed this story. To those of you who devotedly commented on every chapter although you didn't need to, and to those who only reviewed once, you are all wonderful. It's your encouraging comments that keep me going. So thanks again. 
> 
> Keep an eye out for future fics from me. For there will be many - N.
> 
> P.S/ Go back and read the bracket parts of this series titles and pop them together. It says 'I control my soul' in case anyone was wondering. :)


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